Koushi Sugawara and the Heir of Slytherin
by Killthespares
Summary: Sequel to "Shouyou Hinata and the Mirror of Erised". The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir beware. Meanwhile, Suga struggles with his family's reputation. A few trouble-making Gryffindors (and one Slytherin) meddle in Daichi's love life. And, through it all, Hinata finds a very strange diary. SLASH.
1. Prologue: The Family Noroi

A/N: Note this is a sequel to "Shouyou Hinata and the Mirror of Erised". While it can be read separately with relative ease, some details may be confusing. The first book can be found on my author page. Also, this story will contain slash (M/M) though it is pretty innocent and mainly consist of failing at flirting and angst.

ooooooo

Koushi Sugawara sat at the funeral of a man who most believed was better off dead.

Over the family cemetery, the sky was a dark grey overcast but no rain fell as if even nature herself refused to mourn.

The man's death had not come as a surprise-years of age and old battle scars finally catching up with him a scant two nights ago. There was little fanfare in the ceremony with only Suga, his parents, and a priest in attendance to lay the late Hisashi Noroi to rest next to his beloved wife. _The Daily Prophet_ had run a small blurb in the obituaries mentioning the death, but even that was more tinged by relief than any real condolences. A _he's finally dead!_ for the waiting public.

All in all, it was rather unfortunate that this man also happened to be Suga's grandfather

Suga tried to focus back on the priest words about long and fulfilled lives, but judging by the priest's uncomfortable expression even he had trouble believing that they were anything more than empty platitudes. Suga instead turned his gaze to the ornate casket, his mind turning to the last conversation he'd had with the man a few hours before his passing.

Suga had been called to his grandfather's bedside after the healers had given his mother their final condolences, reassuring her that he was at least comfortable.

The old man's room had smelled like...well, it had smelled like death. The scent cloying to the heavy fabric and fine embroideries that hung around the family estates like cobwebs. Despite the smell and his incoming demise, Suga noted that his grandfather looked as firm and austere as always-propping on the bed's headboard like a king looking down on his subjects.

"Grandson," his grandfather greeted, his mouth held with a calm serenity that Suga sometimes recognized when looking in a mirror. "Won't you sit with a dying man?"

"Of course, Grandfather," Suga responded softly, taking the single armchair beside the bed.

His grandfather met his eyes with the kind of sharp expression that always made Suga second guess the healer's prognosis.

"Koushi, I know what you're trying to do," his grandfather told him.

Suga tilted his head. "What do you mean? The healers told me you wanted to see me?"

His grandfather shook his head impatiently. "No, I mean your goals, your plans. I know you want to bury your family's name."

Suga's eyes widened briefly, more out of surprise by the directness than from the assumption. His disdain for his family's past politics hadn't been a secret for years.

He decided silence was the best response.

His grandfather nodded, taking the silence for the affirmation it was. "And...maybe, maybe that's for the best."

This time Suga's reaction was from surprise. "Grandfather?"

He nodded to himself as if he hadn't heard the question. "Yes, at the very least, you will need to warp the name to be beyond recognition."

"Is this...is this just the sickness talking," Suga asked cautiously.

His grandfather looked back up, expression rueful. "Do not assume you know everything about me just because you know my most prominent actions, Koushi. I've been this family's head since I was barely older than you are now."

Suga looked down, deciding to stay silent again.

"Not that I can expect you to know me," his grandfather sighed. "This family has barely been able to hold much more than brief conversation since you were a baby." He paused, reaching over to pick something up from his bedside table. "Do you know what this is, Grandson?"

Koushi picked the book out of his grandfather's hands and looked at it closely. "It's a memory diary, right?"

His grandfather nodded, looking momentarily pleased or possibly just reminiscent. "It's my memory diary. Filled with all my memories from my time at Hogwarts."

Suga's breath caught, doing the math.

"I want you to have it."

Suga looked up bewildered. "What? Why?"

His grandfather looked at him reproachfully and Suga briefly regretted the outburst. "First, because you are my only grandson, my heir. It isn't beyond the realm of possibilities that I'd want you to know me better." His grandfather paused, shifting slightly and regaining his more firm barring. "But, more importantly, it's because of your own plans. It's...I feel that it's important for you know my thoughts, my choices, my actions before you begin to truly take your own."

Suga looked down at the diary, deciphering through his grandfather's words. "Knowing why you thought you had to do it, won't change my mind." He looked up, meeting his grandfather's eyes with his own steely expression. "I'm not going to make the same choices as you did. I won't become a monster."

Maybe if Suga was further away from his grandfather than he would have missed the flash of pain in his eyes before he looked away, would not have heard the small sighed "so much like your grandmother". He would not have missed, however, his grandfather looking back up and his very firm voice stating. "That is all I can hope for."

Suga furrowed his brow and opened his mouth.

"You are still so young, Koushi," his grandfather continued before he had the chance. "You do not know the full ways the world works, the weight of mistakes. You don't know how our family is cursed."

Suga made again to respond.

"Not the obvious one," his grandfather corrected once again. "Not the one we hide, the madness of every seventh generation. I speak more of a less magical one. One that dogs every generation's footsteps."

His grandfather shook his head lightly, his hair briefly obscuring his eyes. "But, that's not one that can be easily fixed in a single conversation. Maybe not even a single generation." he looked back at Suga. "Koushi, my dear grandson, send in your parents. I'd like to talk to my daughter and son-in-law one last time."

Suga nodded, recognizing the dismissal. Quietly, he stepped out of the room and eased the large oak door closed behind him-a diary still clasped firmly in his hands.

"Koushi," a voice interrupted, bringing Suga's mind back to the present.

He looked up to see his mother, her silver hair carefully pinned back from her face.

"It's time to lower the casket," she told him gently.

"Right," Suga breathed out, standing up beside his parents. Joined by the priest, they all gathered around the casket with one standing on each side. With a somber barring, the four drew out the wands and gently levitated the casket off the platform and into the earth bellow.

As the funeral drew to an end, Suga stood by as his parents thanked the priest, smoothly slipping him his pay for the service. With the business concluded, the Sugawara's watched as the priest disapparated before slowly making their way down from the family cemetery-which stood at the edge of the family's land, hanging off the cliff edge above the lake bellow-and back to the mansion. Though, Suga noted ruefully, it's not as though the mansion usually had any more life than the cemetery.

The mansion stood in white marble relief, creeping out of the ground like a giant tombstone-austere, intimidating, foreboding, and home. The family silently went inside, splitting off to busy themselves with whatever personal pursuits until the next meal time.

Suga found himself, mostly without thought, wandering off to the family tapestry room-a room warded heavily against all but blood. Quietly, he slipped through the door, shutting it behind him and muttering a quick spell to light the candles. The candlelight flickered off the family tapestries, hung like wall paper around every corner. In the center of the room was a single rectangular oak table with an arm chair at each head. His grandfather's diary sat on the table, where Suga had left it.

Suga eased himself into one of the armchairs, picking up the diary but refraining from opening it. From his pocket, he drew out a single galleon-only notable by a single slash across the face of the coin. For those who knew the coin and its Protean enchantment, it represented a means of immediate communication between Suga and his friends from Hogwarts.

Contemplatively, Suga held up the coin in one hand and the diary in the other-watching how the light shone across either. After a moment's consideration, Suga sat them both down with the coin placed firmly on top of the old family book. He sighed-the sound barely audible even in the stillness of the room-and looked to the tapestries crowding him in.

Unbidden, his eyes wandered up to what could be considered the roots of the family tree-to the branch that was the reason this room was hidden. His gaze stopped on the family ancestor whose curse the family had spent many a generation working to cover up-the great Hogwarts founder Salazar Slytherin.

Today was the funeral of Hisashi Noroi-Duke of Hangleton; Lord of the Tattings, Catchpole, and Potage Estates; Head General for the Grand and Honorable Order of Secrecy and Tradition; Right Hand to the Giant; and the former patriarch of the last branch of the noble dynasty of Salazar Slytherin.

In a dark room filled with names of the dead sat his grandson, Koushi Sugawara-the Heir of Slytherin.

ooooooo

A/N: I'm back! Here is the prologue for the sequel (so much shorter than most chapters will be). Chapters will post at least every Friday-I'm planning on keeping it at once a week for now.

Thank you again for everyone's support on "Shouyou Hinata and the Mirror of Erised"! Also, if you're interested in reading anything else by me, I am currently posting another Haikyuu story (a royalty AU rather than Hogwarts this time) that will update every Saturday. Unlike "Heir of Slytherin", it's planned as a single work rather than part of a longer series. It also has an "M" rating for violence and language rather than "T" so be warned. For those just interested in the Harry Potter AU, don't worry posting on this story will always remain on schedule.

As always, thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!


	2. Back Again

"Socks?"

"Check," Hinata called, tossing another few pairs into the trunk. He paused on the last one, holding it up to look at the holes. He briefly wondered if he should have maybe bought some new ones when Professor Takeda took him to Diagon Alley last week. He shrugged, shoving the last pair into the trunk. He'd make do.

"What's next," he asked.

"Books," his little seven year old sister said, reading off the packing list from where she was perched cross legged on his bed. It was the night before Hinata left on the Hogwarts Express and the two were sitting alone in Hinata's shared room and packing, or helping to pack in Natsu's case, his school trunk.

"Ah, check" Hinata picked up the pile from under his bed-the covers had all been spelled by Takeda to appear to any curious observer like normal muggle school books. Hinata squeezed the books into the bag and could hardly wait to find someone to cast a Lightweight charm on the trunk once he was at the platform. "Okay, next."

"Up."

"Check-wait, up?" Hinata looked up, confused.

"Up." Natsu told him, imperiously holding her arms out.

"Oh, right. Up." Hinata carefully grabbed the seven year old lifting her up and spinning her around in his arms, listening to her excited giggles. At the end, he plopped her back down on the comforter-smacking a kiss on her forehead. "Alright, what's really next?"

Natsu let out another giggle, looking back at the list. She turned back to him excitedly, eyes wide. "Wand!"

Hinata smiled, reaching into his bedside table and pulled out the second drawer. He flipped it over and there, carefully tapped to the underside, was a beautiful birch wand that Hinata knew contained threaded together thestral hair and phoenix feather. He gently unstuck the wand and held it in his hands, feeling the magic inside him race eagerly at the feel of the wood.

Careful not to actually let any magic out, Hinata held it up and lightly bopped his sister on her nose, watching her go cross eyed trying to see it.

"Check," he grinned, slipping it into his pocket.

Not a moment later, Sekimukai and Izumi-Hinata's roommates and closest friends outside of Hogwarts-walked into the room, carrying their own school bags.

"Hinata, you are so lucky that your boarding school doesn't start until September," Izumi complained, flopping back on his bed. "We already have more homework than I can manage."

Sekimukai groaned beside him, setting his head on the boy's one shared desk. "Don't remind me."

Natsu looked up eagerly at Hinata. "Can I go to your school, too?"

"Maybe," Hinata hedged, trying to think of any weird burst of accidental magic from Natsu's childhood and coming up blank.

"Don't get your hopes up, Natsu," Izumi said in a not unkind voice. "We're still not sure how _Hinata_ got into a super elite private school."

"Maybe they mixed up his test scores with someone else," Sekimukai mused lightly.

Hinata stuck his tongue out at them good naturedly. Though to be fair, his grades really had improved a lot last year after he started tutoring with Suga...Not that was what had gotten him into Hogwarts.

Hinata reached for the packing list from Natsu, giving it one more glance. It was hard to believe that he would really be back at Hogwarts by tomorrow night. Hard to believe that tomorrow morning, he'd get to see Kageyama and Yachi and Kenma and Bokuto and Suga and Lev and...well, everyone. Sure, they'd all sent him letters over the summer and he'd written back, having Karasuna fly them, but it wasn't the same as actually seeing them. He hadn't gotten to see Yachi and Kageyama, his two best friends, in over a month. Not since around the time of Sora's trial where they'd been called to briefly testify. The trial of the dark wizard and their former defense professor had been thankfully short and to the point. After testimony from after a dozen people-including relatives of the people who's memory he wiped-Sora had been sentenced to a lifelong sentence in Azkaban which he was already serving. Press from the Daily Prophet were still fully covering the extent of his crimes.

For Hinata and his friends, immediately after the trial, they had been requested by the Hogwart's Board to help in the recovery of Rowena Ravenclaw's lost library. Apparently, the Treasure Chamber of the Founders was still magically warded against all but the three who had made it through the tasks-Hinata, Kageyama, and Yachi. So, the three had spent a week playing what the Headmaster had jokingly called "book gophers", running into the chamber from the mountain entrance and carrying out books to the waiting collectors. The statue of Godric Gryffindor had been inordinately amused by the whole thing.

The books, along with the Shield of Gryffindor, had now been bought back and returned to the school resulting in a hefty amount of gold that was split between the three friends and put into Gringotts trust vaults to be handed over once they turned seventeen. The agreement was one of the many details ironed out by Yachi's mother, a truly intimidating woman who Hinata had met while retrieving the books. Not that, the three weren't given a small amount of the reward to spend in the meantime. Which of course, Hinata at Professor Takeda's insistence had made sure not to spend on anything too impractical….well, except for maybe _one_ thing.

"Hinata," Izumi called, examining part of Hinata's luggage. "Why in the world are you packing some kind of fancy broom for _boarding school_?!"

ooooooo

"Why aren't they here yet?" Oikawa whined for the fifth time since Iwaizumi's parents had dropped them off at the platform. "They're going to make us lose all the good compartments."

"Oikawa," Iwaizumi signed in half annoyance and half resignation. "It's the _Hogwarts_ Express. It's literal _only_ job is to go to and from _Hogwarts_. There are no bad compartments."

Oikawa shook his head sadly at his friend's naivety, causing Iwaizumi to glare. "Oh, Iwa-chan, of course, there's bad compartments. Too close to the front and the whistle's too loud and you can't talk, too far in the back and then you have to wait _forever_ for everyone else to get off." He looked impatiently around the crowd again. "Which is _why_ they need to hurry up so we don't get stuck in those!"

Iwaizumi snorted. "You know, Stupid-kawa, you could just admit that you miss them rather than making up fake stuff about train compartments."

Oikawa sniffed disdainfully. "Miss them? How could I _miss_ them? They wrote every day. Your house is basically an owlery by now."

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. "Considering that you and Kuroo exchanged at least five letters just playing a tic-tac-toe game and insulting each other, I'm pretty sure a lot of it's your fault."

Oikawa sent him a flat look. "Iwa-chan, it's never _just_ insulting Kuroo. I'm pretty sure it counts as like an honorable duty for mankind by now."

Iwaizumi shook his head, but didn't bother responding.

Oikawa glanced back down at his watch. "It's twenty minutes until we leave. Where are they?"

"Aww," a voice cooed from directly behind them. Arms were slung around each of their shoulders and Kuroo's face appeared between them. "Were you two waiting on _us_? You must have really missed us, Oikawa."

Oikawa huffed, shoving off the arm to glare. "Just wanted to check to see if they were actually letting your likes back into Hogwarts. I had _hoped_ they'd raise their standards."

Kuroo smirked lazily. "Nope, standards are still woefully pitiful as always." He winked. "Probably, while you fit in so well."

Oikawa opened his mouth before they both heard a mild cough. The three turned to see Suga smiling warmly at them.

"Nice to see nothing's changed with you two," Suga commented lightly.

"Finally, a voice of reason," Oikawa praised, grabbing the shoulder of his fellow Slytherin. "Suga, you wouldn't _believe_ what I've had to deal with being with these two. Honestly, the mental anguish I've endured."

"I'm sure it was a very rough two minutes," Suga said kindly. Kuroo snickered behind him, causing the silver haired boy's sympathetic expression to waver as he fought a smile.

"Traitors, all of you," Oikawa huffed dramatically, managing to keep a straight face. "Hey, where's-"

"HEY, HEY," a voice boomed from their side followed by a strong looking fourth year with grey streaked hair.

"Oh, there he is," Oikawa finished.

"Bo," Kuroo greeted, trading a quick high five. "Did Akaashi ditch you?"

Bokuto nodded, not looking that put out. "Yeah, he's talking with Konoha. He said he'd catch up later. What about Kenma?"

"Wanted to sit with Hinata," Kuroo answered easily.

"HINATA!" Bokuto's eyes lit up, he looked around the platform trying to spy any orange hair. "Where is he?! I haven't seen him since Sora's trial. I want to talk to him about the new Quidditch strategy!"

"He's probably with Yachi and Kageyama already," Suga commented, sparing a glance around and not seeing him.

Oikawa rolled his eyes, looking back at his watch impatiently. "Not that finding first years-"

"Second years now," corrected Iwaizumi, mainly just to see Oikawa's eye twitch.

"Not that finding _second years_ -ones that we're sure to see in a few hours-isn't important," Oikawa continued. "But, since the train's leaving in _fifteen minutes_ , you think we _might_ want to find a seat."

"Yeah," Bokuto agreed, looking at the clock. "What are we waiting for?"

"Honestly, Oikawa," Kuroo said with a smirk, starting the group forward. "Why didn't you say anything?"  
Oikawa glared, struggling with his bag.

"I hope we can still get a compartment together," Suga mused, watching Oikawa continue to struggle with the luggage handle

"Especially a _good_ compartment," Iwaizumi emphasized, finally leaning over to help Oikawa.

Bokuto looked back, frowning, "Wait, what makes a _good_ compartment? They're all going to the same place."

"I hate all of you," Oikawa responded flatly. But judging by how he followed them all to get a compartment together, Iwaizumi figured he was lying.

ooooooo

Daichi gazed out the train window, watching the last train stranglers make it on board. Based on a lot of luck (and flat out telling Tanaka a time an hour earlier), Daichi's odd assortment of Gryffindors and one Slytherin had miraculously made it on the train not only on time but also managed to find a compartment together.

He was currently half listening to the rest of them squeeze into their seats while Tsukishima complained about how _no one_ had thought to learn an expansion charm over the summer. Outside of the train, bright silver hair passed the window and Daichi felt his breath catch. _Koushi Sugawara._

Daichi, um, might maybe possibly have had a-very minor, not really even worth mentioning-crush on the other boy since oh, ah...he guessed it's been three years now. So, really, only since he'd met him in first year. It was probably nothing.

He fought down a flush as he watched through the window as the other boy laughed at something his Slytherin roommate said. Suga had a really, really, pretty laugh. Also, Daichi knew from being partnered with him in Herbology that, when he smiled, his eyes would warm up and look like some kind of melted chocolate. And then, also he had this cute dimple on the left corner of his mouth so if he ever smiled at Daichi then-

Daichi heard a light cough beside him before he was elbowed in the ribs. He turned over to glare and saw that the rest of the compartment had finally quieted down and were now looking at him in a way that made Daichi assume someone had called him...possibly more than once. Also, Asahi had followed his gaze, so was now looking at him with a raised eyebrow and Daichi swore whoever said that Asahi was all "kind" and "non-judgmental" had obviously never had him as the _only one_ to know about your crush.

"Sorry, just got tired," Daichi commented, drawing attention away before anyone could ask what he'd been staring at. "What was that?"

Yamaguchi smiled, from where he was sitting by Tsukishima. "I just asked if you knew anything else about the new Defense teacher? Professor Mananda?"

"Oh, not anything that wasn't published in the paper," Daichi answered, thinking back. "My parents went to school with him but according to Dad, he was really quiet back then."

"Ugh, anyone with that many masteries behind their name has got to be really hard, right?" Tanaka asked.

Ennoshita rolled his eyes. "Apparently, he's published like twenty books, but hardly ever gives interviews. I'm surprised Hogwarts was able to hire him."

"Probably, still hoping for some good publicity after the whole Sora mess," Tsukishima commented dryly. "Get someone who prefers the libraries over treasure hunts this time."

"Who cares about the new Defense guy," Noya sighed dramatically, falling onto Asahi from where he was sitting on the large fourth year's other side. "I can't believe we can't take Care of Magical Creatures until fourth year. You guys are so lucky!"

During his first few years at Hogwarts, Headmaster Ukai had set up the curriculum where a different set of electives were available each year for the third through fifth years, each year getting an additional elective hour and the option to continue on with a previous elective or pick a new one. Third years-like Noya, Ennoshita, and Tanaka-got to chose one from Divination, Basic Dueling, and Healing. As fourth years, Asahi and Daichi got two elective hours with the additional choices of Muggle Studies and Care of Magical Creatures. Daichi scratched his head and wondered how to tell the younger boy that he had actually picked up Basic Dueling while Asahi had continued with Healing. Both had chosen Muggle Studies for the second elective.

Daichi shared a look with Asahi and the two boys mutually agreed to wait to tell Noya they didn't chose his favorite subject.

"Um, what elective did you guys chose," Asahi asked instead.

"Dueling," Ennoshita and Tanaka said at once while Noya replied "Healing".

The entire compartment, save Tanaka who Daichi assumed knew, looked curiously at the usually explosive boy.

"What," Noya asked defensively. "If I want to work with magical creatures, I need to know healing more than fighting."

The rest of the compartment nodded or shrugged, accepting this reasoning.

"Actually," Noya asked happily. "I was hoping Asahi would help tutor me!"

"Wait? Me?" the taller boy asked, flustered.

"Yeah," Noya nodded. "Last year, you got like the highest grade in Healing in your year, right?"

"Um," Asahi replied, flushing at the praise. "I tied with Koushi Sugawara from Slytherin actually."

"See," Noya replied, blowing over the minor distinction. "You'll help me right?"

Asahi nodded, still fiddling with his shirt sleeves awkwardly. "Of course, if you want me to."

"Hey, Noya," Tanaka called, interrupting what was sure to be more uncomfortable blushing from Asahi while Noya complimented him. "Should we tell them about what we planned out for this year?"

The entire compartment went immediately silent, several members literally tensing.

"I swear if you got another dragon egg, I'm kicking you two out of the dorm," Ennoshita glared.

"I'll help," Tsukishima agreed.

"Nah," Noya waved a hand carelessly. "Nothing like that. You'll like this one, we promise...but, um, we should probably wait until the dorms."

No one looked that reassured.

"Really," Noya tried again. "It's fine!"

Luckily for him, the compartment started moving at this point momentarily gaining the group's attention.

"Oh, look! The train!" Noya shouted, jumping on the distraction. "Now, we can actually see something beside a boring train station. Hey, by the way, what were you looking at earlier, Daichi?"

Daichi internalized a swear, praying they'd move on quickly. Asahi smiled at his side and Daichi again wondered why no one ever saw the mischievous edge.

"I think Daichi just had someon-something catch his eye," Asahi noted calmly.

"What was it?" asked Ennoshita, curiously.

"Um, I just," Daichi thought quickly, _accidentally_ elbowing Asahi right back. "I saw Yusho from the Quidditch team and started thinking about our first match."

Luckily, Tanaka and Noya appeared satisfied by this answer and quickly got distracted by upcoming Quidditch discussions and Daichi breathed out a sigh of relief.

Asahi was still sitting innocently at his side, ignoring Daichi's glare.

Daichi huffed. He'd show Asahi, he'd was just going to-Daichi's brain screeched to a halt as it reevaluated a couple of hundred times what he was about to think. _No,_ Daichi thought with determination, pulling on his Gryffindor courage. _I can do this._

This was the year that he, Daichi Sawamura, was going to ask out Koushi Sugawara.

ooooooo

Hinata sat in a squished train compartment surrounded by friends and he was pretty sure it was his favorite place in the world-well, that didn't involve a Quidditch pitch or broom. Beside him, Kageyama looked out the window as the sun set over the rolling hills.

"We can't be too far away," Yachi commented from his other side, delicately picking through the remainders of her Bertie Bott's beans.

Hinata smiled warmly. "Yeah, I wonder what second year's going to be like."

On the seat across from them, Kenma gave a minute shrug. "For me, it was fairly similar to first year," he paused, thinking, "well, other than the murderous professor and the hidden treasure. Those were definitely new."

Hinata laughed, sheepishly.

"Other than that," Kenma continued. "The classes were mostly more of the same since electives don't start until third." Kenma shot a flat look to their last compartment companion. "Of course, I _had_ already finished my summer assignments before school started."

"I forgot, though," Lev whined, frantically scratching in another answer on his parchment like he had been doing the majority of the trip. "There were too many cool things to do over the summer. Why would I think about homework?"

Yachi gave a short sigh. "Professor Irihata is going to be so annoyed if you don't finish."

"Pfft, forget Irihata," Lev muttered before looking up with wide eyes. "Yaku is going to _murder_ me."

Kenma hummed, but didn't disagree.

"Was Russia really cool?" Hinata asked.

Lev nodded happily, momentarily forgetting his homework. " _So_ cool! I got to see my sister Alisha and she took me to see the national Quidditch team practice! It was awesome!"

Hinata's eyes lit up and Kageyama turned from the window.

"Oooo," Hinata started. "Which players did you see? Are they practicing any new moves? They did really well against Bulgaria this year! I heard that said that their Chasers were trying a new kind of dive!"

Lev nodded excitedly, beginning to detail the different moves he'd seen with loud animated gestures. Yachi and Kenma shared a commiserating look as the homework sat on the seat forgotten.

A moment later, the train whistle sounded to announce their imminent arrival at the school and the group hurried to change into their robes-an excited air running across the train as it finally pulled to a stop right outside the Forbidden Forest.

Hinata stepped off of the train, heading over to the direction of the boats before Yachi grabbed his arm.

"Only the first years take the boats," Yachi told him. "The rest of us take the carriages to the feast."

"Oh." Hinata looked around, trying to spot any carriages. Kageyama pulled his arm on the other side, leading the group through the crowd of older students.

"Where's Karasuna?" Yachi asked, looking over Hinata's luggage at the empty bird cage.

"I sent her ahead last night," Hinata answered. "She _hates_ being cooped up."

"Like her owner, then," Kenma remarked dryly with a side glance at Hinata's new broom.

Hinata shrugged lightly as the students were gradually herded into what resembled a line, letting Hinata see passed them to...what looked like a bunch of horseless carriages.

"How are the carriages going to move," Hinata leaned over to ask Kenma. "Is it a spell or something."

Kenma shook his head, the ends of his hair brushing his shoulder. "No, they're pulled by thestrals." At Hinata's continued confused look, Kenma explained, "They're invisible. Apparently, they look something like horses but only someone who's witnessed death can see them."

Hinata's eyes widened, looking back to the carriages.

He lightly gripped his wand, remembering vaguely that thestral hair was part of the core make-up. Having his magic linked to some kind of death horse thing wasn't a bad sign, right?

Kageyama shoved him forward and into the carriage before he had the chance to think of it anymore.

Once the five of them-Hinata, Yachi, Kageyama, Kenma, and Lev-all piled in, Hinata felt the carriage jerk sharply under them, pulling them all down the trail until the castle spires come into view. Hinata breathed out, feeling something in his chest ease at the sight of the familiar towers.

Yachi sighed softly beside him. "I always forget how beautiful it is."

Kageyama grunted and Yachi rolled her eyes.

It wasn't long after that they were quickly directed out of the carriages and ushered by Deputy Headmaster Takeda into the Great Hall. The crowd of students were being hastily sorted by the prefects and Head Girls and Boys into the their House tables in what was more akin to a a packed in frenzy than any real semblance of order.

Hinata briefly mourned the days of first year where all he had to do was ride in a boat and wait in the adjoining room for his name to be called. Then again, a year ago he had been panicking because he thought he'd have to fight a troll to get sorted so maybe the crowd he was wading through currently was still preferable.

"I'll meet up with you after the feast," Yachi waved to them, heading off to the Gryffindor table. Kenma nodded quietly, leaving for Ravenclaw.

Lev slapped Hinata on the back, grinning. "I'm gonna go see if any of my roomies will let me copy their Potions homework."

With that the tall grey haired boy headed off to the Slytherin table where Hinata noticed some of his House mates were already glaring at him before he could even ask about their assignments.

As the only two left, Hinata smiled brightly up at Kageyama who maintained his usual scowl but walked over with Hinata to join their dormmates at the Hufflepuff table.

"Hinata! Kageyama! Over here!" Inuoka called, gesturing. Hinata saw that Sakunami and Shibayama had already gathered together and were saving two seats for them.

"Hey," Hinata greeted, sliding into the seat. "How was your summer?"

"Great!" Inuoka enthused. Next to Hinata, Kageyama grabbed a seat and exchanged a nod with Shibayama. "My parents took me to the Dueling Exposition in Ireland. Ugggh, it was so awesome! There was this one witch who-"

"Students," Headmaster Ukai called out, using a Sonorous Charm that instantly silenced the hall. "It is time to begin the Sorting Ceremonies."

Hinata looked over eagerly to the front of the hall where, just like last year, there was an old beat up hat sitting on a plain wooden stool. Deputy Headmaster Takeda called the first student, a small skittish looking girl who looked obviously surprised to see nothing but a hat in front of her. Takeda gestured and the girl gingerly placed the hat on top of her head, sitting on the stool nervously.

The hall quieted, eyes drawn to the first sorting of the year. Even from far away, Hinata could see the girl's shoulders stiffen and Hinata knew the hat had starting talking to her-carrying on a conversation that the rest of the hall would be oblivious to.

Hinata saw the girl's shoulder's loosen and she looked momentarily relieved before-

"RAVENCLAW"

The girl hopped off the bench, hurry down to the Ravenclaw table to the applause of the hall.

"That's the Head of the Department of Mysteries' granddaughter," whispered Sakunami to Inuoka. "I think her whole family's in Ravenclaw."

"No wonder, she looked relieved," Hinata commented back as the next student was called.

"Ugh, how can you even make out expressions," Shibayama whispered, "We're in the back of the hall?!"

Hinata shrugged, turning back to the front just in time to see a student get sorted into Gryffindor.

The ceremony continued with Hinata making sure to clap extra loud for any new Hufflepuffs, happily greeting them when they made it to the table. Though, Hinata had to admit his mind did start to wander somewhere in the "M" names no matter how much he tried to avoid it.

When the sorting finally got done with the last student, Headmaster Ukai stood up, gaining the attention of the entire hall. With his grey hair clipped close to his head and his simple brown robes, the Headmaster cut an imposing figure.

"Congratulations to all our new Hogwarts students," the Headmaster started. "It is my honor as your Headmaster to welcome you to another year at Hogwarts. Joining us this year is your new Defense Against the Dark Arts and Dueling instructor, Professor Reo Mananda." Near the end of the table, a tall but thin man stood up and glanced around the hall, offering up a brief hesitant smile. "We are honored to have him along with the rest of our returning faculty, so I expect all students to show their teachers the proper respect." The Headmaster scanned the room, making sure his point sank in. "I also will remind anyone reckless enough to need the reminder that the Forbidden Forest is off limits at all times except monitored detentions." Headmaster Ukai leaned back, a contemplative look passing his face. "As I'm sure you are all aware, last year was...adventurous. While I hope this year is less so, it is important to remember the lessons from yesterday. Hogwarts is stronger together, then it will ever be separately."

He paused briefly and Hinata's stomach growled in the silence. He tried belatedly to quell it while Inuoka snickered from across the table.

Finally, the Headmaster smiled, dispelling the serious mood that had descended on all but Hinata's table. "Alright, you've waited long enough." At his words, food appeared at the table with a loud pop-covering the table with juicy looking pot roasts, sweet pies, and buttery scones.

"Dig in," The Headmaster told them, sitting back down at the faculty table.

The hall immediately was filled with sounds of utensils scrapping on plates and student's laughter.

Filling his plate, Hinata looked around the table and caught Kageyama's eye from beside him. Hinata gave a wide grin that Kageyama returned with his own smaller smile.

 _Home._

ooooooo

A/N: Thank you so much for all the support I received last chapter! As always, hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading

Next Chapter: Lessons and Lost Objects


	3. Lessons and Lost Objects

As the only sane resident of the third year Gryffindor boys' dorm room, Ennoshita had a feeling he was going to regret this. Not that this was a particularly novel feeling.

However, watching Tanaka happily rummage through his trunk while Noya was practically bouncing behind him, Ennoshita was unfortunately reminded of the night after last year's Welcoming Feast...where they'd brought a dragon egg...to hatch and raise...in a highly flammable dorm room made entirely of wood and fabric.

Ennoshita fought back a sigh. Well, really, it's not like they could top that….Right?

Around the third year's dorm room sat the rest of the assorted Gryffindors-plus one Slytherin that they had a frankly _too_ easy time sneaking amidst all the excitement of the Welcoming Feast. Honestly, with Gryffindor's rather lackadaisical security, it was no wonder that the infamous Slytherin pranking duo, Matsukawa and Hanamaki, always planted pranks in the Gryffindor common room.

Ennoshita was pleased to note that-minus Noya and Tanaka-the rest of the room also had expressions that varied from high skepticism (Daichi) to faked boredom (Tsukishima) to mid-level panic (Asahi and Yamaguchi).

"Um, you _promise_ it's not another dragon egg, right?" Yamaguchi pressed cautiously.

"Nah," Tanaka reassured, still looking through his trunk. "Dragon's eggs were last year. We're much more original than that."

"Yeah," Noya added. "This idea you'll like even _better_."

Ennoshita fought back an eye twitch at the word "better". He expected that Noya and Tanaka's definition of the word was a little...skewed.

Before anyone could ask any further questions, Tanaka let out a crow of excitement and drew something out of his bag.

"I found it!" Tanaka grinned, turning to show the others.

The rest of the room leaned in cautiously-rather like characters in a horror movie.

In his hands was…

A book?

Leaning back with a frown, Ennoshita honestly didn't know if he should feel grateful or disappointed that all of his worry had apparently been for nothing.

After all, how much trouble could a book really cause?

"Magical Cartography: Mapping the Wizarding World," Yamaguchi read off the title. "That sounds really, um, cool?"

From Yamaguchi's tone, Ennoshita suspected that the second year had also been expecting something with a little bit more explosions and reckless endangering.

Asahi nodded beside Yamaguchi and looked heavily relived.

Tsukishima was less than impressed. "Tch, I can't believe we were all worried just because you two found an old book on maps."

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth," Daichi muttered to the blond.

"See, that's what we thought you'd say," Noya exclaimed, wagging a finger at the group.

"Which is why this _isn't_ just a book on maps," Tanaka continued, flourishing the book in front of Noya to allow him to make the grand finish.

"It's a book on _making_ maps," Noya announced.

There was a long pause where the rest of the room wondered what exactly they were supposed to be impressed about.

"So, what?" Tsukishima stated flatly.

"Oh, yee-yees?-of little imagination," Noya continued while Tanaka shook his head sadly. "Magical map making books are very rare."

"Exceptionally rare," Tanaka added.

"Really it was lucky we were able to find one while we were in Romania this summer," Noya shrugged. "That's just how rare they are."

Tsukishima rolled his eyes. "The only reason they're 'rare' is because no one wants to publish them because magical map making is a giant _pain_. No one wants to take the time to do all the charms and spells to make a magical map when they could just create a regular one with a simple _Locus Ostende_ Charm."

"But, a _Locus Ostende_ Charm can't do all the same things," Noya pressed. "With this book, you could make a map that would show _everything_ -who's in the castle, where they are, which secret passageways are clear, where the _teachers_ patrol!"

"That does sound neat," Asahi commented hesitantly, only to be immediately pulled in by Tanaka's arm around his shoulder.

"Finally, someone who's seen the light," Tanaka said, wiping a fake tear from his eye.

Noya nodded happily. "We're glad you think so, Asahi. Cause we're going to make one."

"We are," asked Yamaguchi skeptically.

"No," Tsukishima stated shortly. "I am _not_ wasting my time putting a charm on every room and hall in this entire bloody _castle_. Count me out."

"Tsuki, Tsuki," Noya tsked.

"Don't call me that."

"Think of the opportunities," Noya continued, unhindered. "Knowing with a glance when the Quidditch field is free...or library, I guess?" Noya directed to Tsukishima's glare. "Never having to wonder where you can find someone, knowing where the teachers are so you can sneak out. It'll be wonderful...and only with a few simple charms."

"And an insane amount of time," Tsukishima argued.

Tanaka shrugged. "Between all of us, we should be able to finish it this year. Noya and I already got the paper when we were in Diagon Alley and we can teach you the charms."

"Did you two just come up with this so you can sneak out of the dorms easier," Ennoshita accused.

"Well, not _just_ that," Tanaka commented archly.

"Think about last year!" Noya shouted with an air that reminded Ennoshita of either an impassioned politician or a carnival ringleader. "Wouldn't it have been so much easier to sneak out the dragon...who knows, maybe we could have even caught that Defense teacher before people got hurt. It's really a service for all of Hogwarts to make this map!"

Ennoshita raised a single eyebrow.

"And we can sneak out easier," Noya added.

"How noble," Ennoshita responded acerbically.

Tanaka stuck out a tongue and Noya opened his mouth to respond back.

"Let's do it," Daichi stated, breaking his previous silence on the subject.

The entire room looked at Daichi with a note of surprise.

"Really?!" Noya gaped before rallying. "I mean...Yeah, see, Daichi gets it!"

"Um, Daichi," Asahi commented from beside the fourth year. "You really want to help make it easier for Noya and Tanaka sneak out?"

Daichi shook his head and Ennoshita thought the de facto leader of the group looked a bit devious in this light.

"No," Daichi answered. "But, they're going to do that anyway. At least, this way, they have less of a chance getting caught and spending Quidditch practice in detention."

"Aww, you do care," Tanaka answered, looking genuinely touched.

"And," Ennoshita prompted, because he couldn't quite believe attendance at Quidditch was the only reason.

"And," Daichi continued. "If they're busy with making a relatively not dangerous map, they won't be bored enough to think of a more dangerous mess that we'd all get caught up with."

The group-again minus Noya and Tanaka, who looked slightly chagrin though weren't denying it-nodded with various expressions of relief.

"Genius," Tsukishima commented breezily. "Don't stop the idiots, keep them occupied."

Noya glared and opened his mouth to argue before realizing that would be counter to getting them to agree to the map.

"So, we're making the map," Yamaguchi asked happily.

"Yep! Noya and I can teach the rest of you the spells," Tanaka told him, obviously deciding to focus back on his enthusiasm for the map. "It's really cool! There's three interlocking charms and you just gotta place them on every new wall and hall you find and the map will correspond to show it in real time."

"Are the spells hard," Asahi asked.

Noya shook his head. "Nah, they should be fairly easy and not take up too much magic. Me and Tanaka were planning to do some on the way to class tomorrow. We can all just meet up at night and decide who's covering what sections."

Noya snapped his fingers. "Oh, yeah, that reminds me!"

The rest of the group tensed again.

"We need a name!" Noya finished.

"A name," Ennoshita asked warily. "For what?"

"For us, duh," Tanaka answered. "Like, what can we call ourselves. All we got now is six Gryffindors plus a Slytherin. We need something cooler."

"Why do we need a name when we're all here and know who we mean," Tsukishima sighed, rubbing his temples like a headache was forming.

"Cause it's cool," Noya argued as if this was explanation enough...which for Noya, Ennoshita supposed it was.

Ennoshita sat back on the bed and listened to the rest of the room argue back and forth on the necessity of a name and, if so, what that name should be.

He hummed lightly, closing his eyes. Well, at least this was better than the dragon.

ooooooo

It was the last class on their first day back to school, not to mention their first Defense lesson with their new teacher, and Kageyama...was honestly more excited about the Quidditch practice after rather than the class.

Beside him, his two best friends-and, even after a year, the fact that he had "best friends" was still a bit of a novel concept-Yachi and Hinata chattered away excitedly about the new professor. Personally, Kageyama didn't really care if they had a new professor or not except for if he'd let them out of class early; but, he had also long learned that Yachi could obsess over practically anything-school related or otherwise-and Hinata...well, honestly, it would be harder for Kageyama to remember a time the ginger _wasn't_ excited about something.

"My mom has some of his books laying around the house," Yachi commented eagerly. "I tried to read them, but they kept referencing theories that I don't think we learn until at least sixth year."

"Whoah," Hinata said, eyes shining. "He must be a genius! I can't believe he's teaching here!"

Yachi nodded excitedly and the three entered the classroom, grabbing seats near the front. The room slowly filled in after them with the rest of the second year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs.

Not a second after class started, Professor Mananda hurried into the room, carrying what had to be at least eight books in his arms. For Kageyama's first up close look at the professor, he looked...skinny, he guessed, kind of like a pole. With carefully slicked back brown hair and delicate wire frame glasses, Mananda was fairly tall with thin limbs and a body that made him looked slightly like stretched out taffy. Kageyama thought he must be fairly young, maybe in his early thirties. All in all, he looked more like a librarian than a master of defeating the dark arts.

Mananda sat the books down on the front desk with a faint huff before turning to the class.

"Welcome, students," he greeted in a soft voice that barely carried to the back of the room. "As the Headmaster told you in his opening speech, my name is Reo Mananda and I will be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

The class was watching him with open expressions of curiosity and expectations.

"Now," Mananda continued, walking to his desk and grabbing a pile of papers from a drawer. "I thought we'd start with a brief quiz. Don't worry, it should be fairly easy, just a chance for me to assess your progress."

The class groaned but Mananda ignored them, pulling out his wand and reciting a _Leviosa_ to have the papers fly to each student. "Alright, you have ...let's say fifteen minutes."

Kageyama looked down at his paper and picked up his quill...and then, kept looking at the paper. He'd...he'd never heard of _any_ of this He swallowed nervously and glanced up to see that the rest of the class were starring a their quizzes with similar blank expressions.

After a few minutes, Yamaguchi nervously stuck his hand up. "Um, sir?"

"Yes?" Mananda responded pleasantly.

"Um, s-sorry for asking," Yamaguchi began. "But are you sure you that this is the quiz for, ah, second years?"

Mananda frowned, glancing at an extra quiz. "Yes, it should be."

"Oh." Yamaguchi said before wincing. "It's just that the quiz is kind of…"

"Harder than a troll's skull," Inuoka finished succinctly. "I don't know any of this."

There were murmurs of agreement from the rest of the class.

"Really," Mananda asked, walking over to look at some of the class's blank pages. "None of you have heard of _any_ of this?"

Yachi raised her hand hesitantly. "I...I think I might have heard of the magic to energy conversion theory, um, but it was just a reference."

Mananda's brows knitted together. "The Magic to Energy Conversion Theory is the absolute basic theory for how magic is harnessed and the energy is converted to a controlled light substance while still maintaining a string of influence from the caster."

The class stared blankly.

"Wait, so it's just explaining _Lumos,_ " Shibayama asked.

"Oh," Hinata smiled from next to Kageyama. "Then, don't worry, Professor! We can all do that!"

Mananda if anything looked more perplexed. "Why would you want to do the spells when you could be learning the theory behind them?"

"We're not going to be doing any spells!?" Inuoka gaped.

"Of course not!" Mananda said, shocked. "This is a Defense class! Against the _Dark Arts_! Those spells are dangerous. No spells will be covered until at least OWL level."

Mananda didn't seem to notice how the entirety of the class sunk back into their seats with expressions ranging from distaste to horror.

Instead, the professor shook his head, looking back to his desk. "I'm going to have to revise my entire course schedule to cover more theories. Honestly, what was your last professor thinking?"

The class traded glances, each looking to another as they slowly got an idea of what this class was going to be like. Kageyama slumped back and resigned himself for a long class-and from the sounds of it, a longer semester.

At least, he had Quidditch later.

ooooooo

"ALRIGHT, TEAM!" Bokuto boomed excitedly, practically bouncing on his feat. "I know last year, we had our chance of victory snatched by those no good, rotten, probably entirely evil, utterly despicable, honestly can't stress enough how bad they are, not a good one in the entire House-RAVENCLAWS!"

He turned and offered a chipper smile. "No offense, Akaashi!"

Akaashi rolled his eyes from where he sat on the side of the field with Yachi. "None taken."

"But this year," Bokuto continued, swapping back to the team. "We're totally going to beat Ravenclaw and win the House Cup! OKAY?!"

Hinata and fifth year Koki let out a corresponding whoop while Mad Dog growled, Aone gave a single nod, and Kageyama looked a cross between determined and vaguely confused on how he should respond. Futakuchi just raised an eyebrow.

None of this seemed to deter Bokuto, who let out a broad grin. "Great! So, I've got a few ideas for us as a team but first I wanted to ask if any of you had plans for your individual positions."

Immediately, Futakuchi stepped forward. "Aone and I want to work with Koki on a new defense we came up with this summer. We're calling it the wall defense but we need a Chaser."

Bokuto nodded, looking toward Koki, who gave a thumbs up and went to stand by the Beaters.

"Dives," Mad Dog said, shortly. "I want to work on my dives."

"Sound awesome," Bokuto smiled before looking at Hinata and Kageyama. "What about you guys?"

Hinata looked at Kageyama, who seemed equally lost.

"Um…," Hinata hesitated. "Being better?"

Beside them, Futakuchi let out a short laugh-amused rather than mocking-and Aone gave Hinata a small smile.

Bokuto reached over and slapped Hinata on the back. "That's great, guys! Good work. Let's do that!"

"Though might want to come up with a few more details," Akaashi commented lightly.

Bokuto waved him off. "Don't worry. I actually had a few ideas for you two already. Grab your brooms and a Quaffle and meet me by the goals."

The two nodded, racing to the side of the bleachers where Yachi handed them a Quaffle. When they got back, Bokuto had already sent the others to their own spots on the pitch-the Beaters and Koki huddled in conversation while Mad Dog was ascending into the clouds. Kageyama and Hinata mounted their brooms and followed the captain.

Bokuto had already taken his Keeper's position in front of the goals and waved at them when they reached the beginning of the scoring zone.

"Okay, so I was actually planning on asking Koki to do this, too," Bokuto started. "But, since Futakuchi and Aone already have him on defense and you guys are our best at receiving and tossing, this actually kind of works better." Bokuto paused dramatically. "This year, I want you two to focus on different types of throws."

"Like, um, overhand and underhand," Kageyama asked and Bokuto shook his head.

"No, it's like…" Bokuto paused, frowning. "Okay, so Kageyama what do you do when you want Hinata to catch the Quaffle?"

Kageyama shrugged. "I don't know. I just throw it really fast and then he catches it."

"Is this like from last year when I had to catch the ball without looking," Hinata asked, confused.

Bokuto shook his head again. "No, okay, so, there's different ways to throw the ball. You two, I guess, are both kind of naturals so you've never needed to worry about it. But if we can teach you the multiple types, you'll have more ways to score. Got it?"

Kageyama and Hinata looked at each other before responding together, "Go it."

Bokuto beamed. "Great! So, part of the thing is you two are both Chasers so you've gotta be good at throwing _and_ catching the ball, right?"

Hinata and Kageyama nodded.

"But," Bokuto continued, gesturing to the Quaffle. "because of how we use you two, you both go about it in different ways. Kageyama, you normally get the Quaffle either because one of your own teammates directs it to you or you intercept it. Both of which are more setting up a play than acting on it, yeah?" Kageyama nodded. "Right and when you throw it, you're beginning the play but your overall goal is still for Hinata to catch it."

The captain swapped to Hinata, eyes lighting up as he got more into his explanation. "Hinata, you're the opposite. When you're focused on catching the Quaffle, it's the beginning of the play so it's normally already at a faster pace and your job is to dodge around blockers." Hinata bobbed his head, happily. "But, then the _real_ difference comes in your throw. You're normally set up to throw it passed the Keeper and score. With me so far?" Hinata gave him a thumbs up. "So, your goal is for the Quaffle _not_ to be caught. Kageyama's throws are more centered around _catching_ and your's are more about _scoring_ and avoiding the Keeper."

"Ohhh," Hinata broke in. "I think I get it. It's like how you always have Kageyama focusing on the other team's Chasers while I've gotta dodge the Beaters and keep an eye on the Keeper."

Beside him, Kageyama nodded.

"Yeah, partly" Bokuto smiled. "So, over the summer, Akaashi and I have been thinking of different types of throws you two could learn." He turned again to Kageyama. "Okay, this is kind of tricky, but do you think you could learn to throw the Quaffle basically to where Hinata's going to be rather than where he is?"

Kageyama frowned. "Like guessing his direction and then throwing it?"

Bokuto nodded enthusiastically. "Exactly. It's the first part of this idea Akaashi had for a tempo attack." Bokuto gestured back to the bleachers. "Akaashi's got a book on it and can explain it better."

Kageyama tilted his head contemplatively. "I think...I think maybe I could learn to do that."

"Just try, okay," Bokuto asked and Kageyama nodded. "Alright, now, Hinata, the first throw I want you to learn is one that I found. It's called a feint."

"Like passing out," Hinata asked, confused.

"Nah, not a faint, a feint," Bokuto corrected. "It's like throwing the Quaffle at the Keeper and getting them to misjudge the throw so that instead of blocking it, the Quaffle just hits their hand a little bit and knocks it into the goal." Bokuto grimaced. "I _hate_ it. One of Slytherin's old players did it to me my second year and it was terrible." Bokuto shook his head and was back to his usual grin. "But, if you learn it and can use it then it would be great!"

"I'll do it," Hinata shouted eagerly and immediately. "Please, teach me and I promise I'll be the best Chaser ever!"

Bokuto barked out a laugh. "That's what I like to hear. But don't get ahead of yourself, today I just want you guys to practice tossing. Kageyama, you get about fifteen or so meters away and practice different ways to throw to Hinata. Hinata, you practice throwing in ways to get passed me. Both of you focus on the motions behind it. Try to get a feel for how the little changes affect things."

Both boys nodded and the two spent the rest of practice and on into the early sunset practicing their throws. Finally, Akaashi sent off a small flare from the bleachers and the team gathered back on the pitch.

"Great first practice, guys!" Bokuto announced, once everyone at landed. "Me and Akaashi will try to work out some kind of schedule and routine that we'll give you tomorrow. Our first match is in two months against Gryffindor, so let's win it and show those guys who they're dealing with!"

The team gave general grunts or tired cheers of agreement before Bokuto clapped his hands and dismissed them for dinner. The group split up. Hinata tried to see around members to Akaashi, but it looked like the Ravenclaw boy had already slipped from view.

"Hey, guys," Yachi greeted, coming over to stand next to Hinata and Kageyama. "That sounded like a great practice! I'm so glad Bokuto said I could come watch."

Kageyama shrugged. "It's not like anyone's ever minded Akaashi watching."

"Yeah," Hinata agreed, bumping Yachi's shoulder amicably. "Besides, I'm pretty sure if you were spying on us for Gryffindor, you'd have told us by now."

"Idiot," Kageyama huffed, hitting the back of Hinata's head. "That's not how spying works."

Hinata stuck his tongue out at him. "How would you know how spying works, Kageyama?"

Yachi laughed, grabbing their arms and hauling them back to the castle. "Argue while we walk or we're not going to have any time for dinner."

"Hey," Hinata asked, following Yachi. "Did you see where Akaashi went?"

Yachi frowned, thinking. "I think he headed out with Bokuto pretty much immediately. Why?"

Hinata shrugged, careful not to do something stupid like randomly blurt out that Akaashi was psychic and Hinata wanted to ask him psychic-y questions.

"It's nothing," Hinata said. "I wanted to ask him something but I'll just catch him after dinner."

Yachi smiled and Kageyama rolled his eyes. Hinata restrained from letting out a sigh of relief.

Keeping secrets was _hard._

 _ooooooo_

After dinner, Oikawa, Kuroo, and Iwaizumi headed down for their first practice of Dueling Club that Oikawa would never admit he was maybe a _bit_ over excited for.

"You do know that's the tenth time you've checked your watch since we left the Great Hall," Kuroo commented idly. "Something which I'll remind you was maybe _two minutes ago_."

"Excuse me for actually caring about punctuality," Oikawa glared.

"Yeah," Iwaizumi said, raising an eyebrow. "But your version of 'care about' has always really boiled down to 'obsess over'"

"Slander and lies," Oikawa retorted, forcefully keeping himself from looking at his watch again. "Honestly, the amount of pure torment I have to put up with from my supposed 'friends'."

"You could've always chosen Divination with Bokuto, Makki, and Matsu," Iwaizumi added.

"No, thanks," Oikawa rolled his eyes. "I know a hopeless case when I see it."

"Must recognize it from looking in the mirror," Kuroo smirked.

"Har Har," Oikawa drawled. "Maybe I'm just excited cause we may actually learn something from this rather than the this year's useless Defense class."

Kuroo and Iwaizumi both grimaced, reminded of their earlier lesson with Professor Mananda.

"At least he's not trying to kill us like last year," Iwaizumi muttered.

"I don't know. I'm pretty sure bored to death is a legitimate concern," Oikawa added.

Kuroo groaned. "If I wanted more theory, I could've just read that on my own time."

"Shame on you," Oikawa mock gasped. "A Ravenclaw that's not happy with more books. Your House would throw you from the tower if they heard."

Kuroo snorted. "Please, they'd thank me. Mananda's not planning on doing practical lessons."

Oikawa tilted his head. "And…"

"I've never met a Ravenclaw that wasn't interested in tinkering with stuff to see if it blows up," Kuroo explained. "There's a reason they put us in Potions with the Gryffindors-they're just combining the times the lab's likely to _explode._ "

"Huh," Oikawa responded, frowning contemplatively. "You know looking at Kenma and Akaashi, neither really seem the type for pyromania."

Kuroo rolled his eyes. "Then, never try to take away Kenma's video games during the summer. I was lucky to escape with my limbs."

Oikawa didn't get the chance to demand more details-though he would certainly be doing that later-before the three arrived in front of the Dueling Club meeting room.

"Wow," Iwaizumi intoned flatly.. "And look, we still managed to make it with about ten full minutes to spare."

Oikawa stuck out his tongue and walked over to where other students were gathering on the sides of large black mats. Iwaizumi and Kuroo followed, the later bending over briefly to examine the matts.

"Dueling mats," Kuroo commented. "High quality, too."

"What are they supposed to do," Iwaizumi asked, frowning at the plain looking black material.

"Oh, I read about those," Oikawa said, bending down beside Kuroo. "They're supposed to be able to set up protective barriers so no one outside the matt gets hit by spells, right?"

"Yeah," Kuroo answered. "If you go to professional dueling matches, they have these kind of matts charmed into the podiums. They're warded with I don't know how many different spells and potions." Kuroo shrugged. "Not enough to stop really dark curses or anything but definitely enough to stop any spell used in a duel."

"Glad a few of you are already aware of the basics," a new voice announced and Oikawa looked over to see Ishida Kento, sixth year captain of the Dueling Club. Oikawa didn't really know much about the Ravenclaw except for a briefly meeting him last year when he asked him to join Dueling.

He walked over to the matt. "Yeah, these are just the portable kinds so not quite as strong but our captain last year came from this really snotty-um, sorry, politically conscious-pureblood family so we still got top of the line materials." Ishida took a closer look at the three of them. "Oh, you are the three guys that dueled Sora last year, right?"

"And kicked his ass from what I heard," called out a freckled teen with bright bleached blonde hair.

Ishida rolled his eyes. "Ignore Takagi, he's our vice captain. Good in a duel but hopeless in everything else.

"Rude," Takagi responded, good natured.

The captain ignored him, instead scanning the room. "Alright, I think we've got everyone here so let's get started." He motioned to the rest of the students, who had previously been loitering around the matts. "So, you're all here because either you've been on the club previously or you were invited to join after showing some level of competence in the Defense class."

"Though competence still means a long way to go," Takagi put in.

Ishida nodded. "Right and that's what part of this club will help you with. For those new, I'm going to explain the basics a bit more. Returners, wait a bit and then we'll divide up for a demonstration." The older students in the group nodded and Oikawa was pleased to see that only a few of them looked to be from Slytherin. There might even be a chance he could get through this club without being cursed in the back. Dreams.

"Okay, so for the newbies," Ishida continued and Oikawa focused back. "Duelings got two basic events, solo and duo duels. Solo duels are always the first everyone thinks of. One wizard or witch against another. They're great for if you're planning on focusing on both defense and offense. The second type is duo: two versus two matches," Ishida took in a breath. "Okay, we've had some problems with this in the past so I want to make it clear. All members of the Hogwarts Dueling Club are _required_ to compete in both types of events."

A few of the older students groaned.

"I don't want to hear it," Ishida responded flatly. "The club as a whole doesn't benefit from splitting our numbers into two just because some of you don't like to share the spotlight." He turned back to the new students. "Alright, for those of you who are new, this shouldn't be too much of a change. The first few months we're going to focus on separating groups into partners. If you work best with multiple people, that's great! We'll just find a couple you work best with and separate it down from there. Everything clear?"

Oikawa and the other new fourth years nodded.

"Good," Ishida nodded. "Now, any questions?"

Daisho, a fourth year Slytherin, raised his hand.

"Just to check," he started, a note of distaste in his voice. "We will actually get to perform spells in this club right? Not just study theory."

Takagi let out a short laugh.

"I see you've already had Mananda," the Captain rolled his eyes. "Yeah, don't worry. We're going to make sure you practice spells until you can't feel your wand arm."

Ishida looked around the room, making sure to meet every members' eyes. "I want to be very clear about this. Dueling Club's going to be one of the hardest classes you have this year. We're student run but don't think that means this will be easy. Slack off and we won't hesitate to kick you off for being a danger to the rest of the class." The Ravenclaw let out a slow dangerous looking smile. "But work hard and you'll know more about Defense magic than anyone in the entire school."

Oikawa smiled and he looked over to see Kuroo answer it with a smirk while right behind them, Iwaizumi looked faintly pleased.

Finally, a defense class worth taking.

ooooooo

An hour or so later found Suga was spending his evening sitting in the Hogwarts halls and pleasantly working on homework with Bokuto while they waited for the others to get out of Dueling. Okay, a more accurate assessment would be that Suga did research for the year's first History of Magic essay while Bokuto "worked" on his Divination homework i.e. made wild speculations that Suga was fairly sure were not possible let alone likely. Suga had been mentally keeping a running list of what he considered the best so far. The top five were: (5) Headmaster Ukai turning out to be a squib; (4) Bokuto himself miraculously learning how to communicate with the Giant Squid through an undiscovered gene that allowed him to communicate with sea creatures; (3) The Hufflepuff Quidditch team doing so well they became a professional Quidditch team and won this year's Quidditch World Cup; (2) House elves rebelling to start the zombie apocalypse; (1) Professor Irihata smiling.

Suga cleared his throat and decided to make one final attempt to save Bokuto's Divination grade. "So...these are all events you think will happen."

Bokuto looked up at him, blinking. "Of course not. That would be silly."

Suga felt momentarily comforted by evidence of Bokuto's continued grip on sanity.

"They're events I know will happen," Bokuto corrected. "That's how Divination works!"

"Ahhh" Suga said shortly before making the wise decision to go back to his own homework.

Reaching in his bag for another book, Suga's fingers brushed across something that he'd almost forgotten. Well, that wasn't quite true. Something he was trying to forget.

Suga honestly didn't know what made him decide to even bring his grandfather's diary, much less store it in his school bag. He wasn't going to read it. He'd already decided that no good would come from it, no matter what his grandfather believed. Suga knew what his goals were, his ambitions. And...and he knew what his grandfather's goals amounted to in the end. Nothing about the past could change Suga's present so he'd much rather focus on the things that actually mattered to him.

As if on cue, Bokuto boomed out a greeting and Suga looked up to see Kuroo, Oikawa, and Iwaizumi walking down the hall to join them.

 _Things that matter,_ Suga echoed

"How was dueling?" Suga asked as the three got closer.

"Amazing," Oikawa sighed, flinging himself on the bench and slinging an arm each around Suga and Bokuto. Suga held back a laugh. A happy Oikawa was an affectionate Oikawa.

"It was good," Iwaizumi added. "The captain seems to know what he's talking about. And the older students gave us a demonstration that was pretty cool."

"Iwa-chan's understanding things" Oikawa complained. "It was amazing and awesome and the best class ever."

"How's homework coming," Kuroo asked, looking down at Bokuto's assignment and wincing. "Bo, I really don't think that Gringotts is going to start holding 'Free Gold Day'"

"But wouldn't that be cool," Bokuto argued.

"You need to drop that class," Oikawa responded flatly.

"No way," Bokuto said, shaking his head. "Divination's awesome. And, once I get good at it, I can divine the answers for all my other classes so then I can get straight O's"

Suga frowned. "I'm pretty sure it doesn't work that way."

Bokuto held a hand up to his head in a fake psychic pose. "But, I foresee that it does."

Kuroo sighed heavily. "Come on, psychic. If we don't get going, we're going to miss curfew."

Suga hastily threw his stuff back in his bag and the group got up and headed for the stairs.

"You know," Oikawa commented idly. "We should really work on becoming prefects or something for next year. Then, we wouldn't have to worry about curfew. It's not like we'd give ourselves detention"

"That's definitely abuse of power," Iwaizumi rolled.

Oikawa pouted. "You're no fun."

A second after Oikawa finished, the staircase shook and the group stumbled, trying to keep their balance. Suga threw himself on the railing to get a grip, his bag banging against the marble. Bokuto shot out a hand to steady him and Iwaizumi on his other side.

A few jarring moments later, the staircase settled on the exact opposite hall of the way they needed.

Kuroo groaned. "Guess we're getting back to the dorm the long way."

 _ooooooo_

"Akaashi! Akaashi, wait up," Hinata called, running to catch up after spotting the Ravenclaw boy walking alone through the Hogwarts halls.

Akaashi turned, surprise flickering across his face as he saw Hinata.

The teen scrunched up his brow. "Are you here to ask about the Quidditch book? I was planning to drop it off with Kageyama tomorrow."

Hinata shook his head, leaning over to catch his breath. "Nah, I wanted to ask you about the whole...you know," Hinata glanced around before lowering his voice to a whisper. "The psychic thing."

Hinata frowned as Akaashi's entire body tensed.

"You haven't…" The Ravenclaw licked his lips nervously. "You haven't told anyone, right?"

"Of course not," Hinata denied vehemently. "That's your secret. I'd never tell anyone unless you told me to."

Even if Hinata did think secrets were a huge hassle, he'd never reveal someone else's-let alone a friend.

That seemed to relax Akaashi's slightly. "Oh...that's good, then. Thank you, Hinata."

Hinata shrugged. "No problem."

Akaashi tilted his head curiously. "Then, what was it you wanted?"

"I want to know how it works," Hinata said, eyes wide. "You can see the future! That's so cool!"

Akaashi winced, gesturing for Hinata to keep his voice down. "It's really not that cool. I promise."

"Can you see everything," Hinata asked, making sure to keep his voice low.

Akaashi shook his head, shooting nervous glances around the hall. "No, I can't. I just see...possibilities, I guess. Things that may happen if other events occur….and not even all of those, just maybe a few different futures."

"So, you can change the future," Hinata gasped.

Akaashi's face twisted in an expression Hinata didn't really know how to interpret. "No, not really. I... _sometimes_ , I can influence just a little bit which future will occur but...nothing is ever certain." Akaashi sighed. "I can't see my own future at all...or any consequences of my direct actions. It makes trying to change things...difficult." Akaashi frowned, sadly. "Mainly, all I do is watch things I can't do anything about."

Hinata swallowed, wanting to comfort the boy but not quite knowing how.

"Well, ah, I still think you're pretty amazing," Hinata said awkwardly. "I mean even if you can still only change like one in every bazillion futures, that's still changing the future."

Akaashi smiled, though it still sounded far from genuine. "I guess you can think of it like that, Hinata."

"Soooo," Hinata started, the question burning in his chest.

Akaashi looked at him warily.

"What's going to happen with Quidditch this year?" Hinata blurted out.

This time when Akaashi smiled, it looked warmer and genuine.

"I should've known that would be your main question," Akaashi said ruefully and Hinata blushed. Akaashi shook his head. "I don't know what's going to happen with Quidditch, Hinata. I help out directly with the team, remember? _And_ I watch every game. It's my own future."

"Aww, so you don't know if we'll beat Ravenclaw or anything," Hinata asked, disappointed. "What if you just decided not to watch that game then could you see it?"  
Akaashi shrugged, still smiling. "Maybe, but I like Quidditch. Why would I want to spoil it?"

"Fine, fine, I guess that's fair," Hinata tilted his head, thinking. "Then can you tell me my future or anything? The non-Quidditch parts, I mean."

Akaashi instantly sobered, smile wiped and leaving an eerie blank expression behind.

"Hinata," Akaashi said slowly. "No one should know too much about their own future. It's...it wouldn't be good for anyone." Akaashi took a deep breath, hesitating. "Please, _please_ don't ask me."

Hinata met the older boy's eyes and saw a kind of quiet desperation there-something dark and fierce like watching a storm through a telescope. The Hufflepuff boy wondered if Akaashi's demand was more for Hinata or Akaashi himself.

"I won't," Hinata promised and the something undefinable lifted.

Akaashi smiled-small but tinged with relief.

"I think we should get back to our dorms," Akaashi said firmly.

"Okay," Hinata nodded absently, mind still on the conversation. "Night, Akaashi."

The Ravenclaw nodded and turned to go down another hall.

"Oh, wait," Hinata called and Akaashi looked back at him.

"Is this going to be a good year at Hogwarts," Hinata asked, smiling.

Akaashi hummed, thinking through his answer.

"It should be...an interesting one, I believe," Akaashi said, mouth quirking in a joke that it looked like even he didn't think was funny. His eyes slid over to Hinata. "Oh, by the way, you should take the path by the staircases when walking back."

Hinata frowned at the seeming non-sequitur. "Um, thanks? I will."

Akaashi nodded and before Hinata could ask anything else, disappeared down the hall.

Hinata shrugged and turned the other way, heading for the main stairwell. He was kind of thinking he probably shouldn't ask Akaashi any more questions like that again. Not just because they made the Ravenclaw clearly uncomfortable, but also because that was the most confusing conversation Hinata had ever had in his life.

Hinata looked up at the stairs, frowning and thinking about Akaashi's last comment. He was pretty sure taking the side halls would have been quicker. Though, he guessed it wouldn't matter too much.

As soon as he thought that, he tripped and nearly landed on his face, catching himself and rolling at the last second.

"Oww." Hinata rubbed his shin and glanced back to see what he had tripped over.

Laying in the middle of the stairway was an old looking black book with the initials "HN" engraved in silver. With a small frown, Hinata picked it up and examined it.

Shrugging, Hinata slipped it into his bag and made a mental note to drop it by Lost and Found later.

After all, someone would definitely want their diary back.

ooooooo

"You're back late," Kenma commented softly, looking up from his book as Akaashi walked through the Ravenclaw entrance way. "It's almost curfew."

"Caught up in a distracting conversation with Hinata," Akaashi said, taking the opposite couch and grabbing a book of his own

Kenma gave a wry smile at the mention of the ginger.

"Hinata can definitely be a distraction," Kenma agreed, turning back down and letting them fall back into their normal silence. The two really did make wonderful roommates.

He was surprised when Akaashi let out a laugh.

"Hinata's quite unique," Akaashi gave a small private smile. "Hopefully one in a bazillion."

Kenma mentally frowned before shrugging it off, returning to his book.

ooooooo

As always, thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed!

Next Chapter: Something Unexpected P.S. Just in case there's anyone curious about the fate of Ennoshita, Tanaka, and Noya's previous fourth roommate (Obara, that one wing spiker from Date Tech). He's fine, has fully recovered from the Dragon Pox he had all last year, and is happy to be back and repeating his second year with his new dormmates. His only complaint is that sometimes he wakes up in the middle of the night in his new dorm with the strange feeling that he dodged some kind of bullet.


	4. Something Unexpected

"Suga, I...I was wondering if you wanted to be my Herbology partner this year?"

Frowning, Suga looked up in confusion from where he'd been unpacking his bag.

"Daichi, we've been Herbology partners for the last three years," Suga reminded the Gryffindor boy. "You don't have to ask me. Of course, I will," Suga had a realization. "Oh, I mean unless you don't want to. I don't want you to feel like you're required to or anything."

"No, no," Daichi said quickly, sliding in to his normal seat beside Suga. "I, ah, just wanted to make sure. I definitely want to be with you!" A dark blush bloomed across the Daichi's face. "I mean, in Herbology. I want to be with you _in Herbology._ As partners...for Herbology."

Still somewhat bemused, Suga smiled brightly. "Then, I'm happy to work with you."

Daichi breathed out a sigh of relief.

"So, um, what are we working on today," Daichi asked, gesturing to the pot supporting a large flower with shining silver petals. "I forgot my book back in the dorms."

"Viper Veritas Lilies," Suga said, gently lifting up a petal with his wand to show how the silver spread into the stem. "They're from the west coast of Africa originally. I wonder how Professor Shimada got this many."

"You know it kind of reminds me of you," Daichi told him, offering up a smile that looked a bit shy.

"They do?" Suga frowned, just as Professor Shimada came to the table.

"Be careful with these now," Shimada told them. "Fully grown, they're one of the five most deadly plants in the Wizarding World." He patted the pot fondly. "Luckily, these are just babies. Still, don't try to touch them unprotected. It'll still cause a mild allergic reaction plus, of course, the normal side effect."

"We'll be careful, Professor," Suga assured him, before glancing around the room. "Although, you might want to check on Oikawa before he positions himself again."

Shimada sighed, walking over to the aforementioned table. "And it hasn't even been a full class yet."

Suga turned back to Daichi, who was awkwardly rubbing his neck. "They reminded me of you because of the, ah, petals." He gestured to Suga's hair. "You know, silver petals, silver hair. Not because of the, um, deadly poison parts."

"Thank you, then," Suga smiled, internally wondering if Daichi might be coming down with some kind of fever. He skimmed over Shimada's notes on the board. "It looks like we're just cutting back on some of the leaves to allow the plant more room." He turned back to Daichi. "I think Shimada's going easy on us for our first lesson."

Daichi laughed. "Sounds good. Want me to hold back the plant while you cut?"

"Works for me," Suga said, passing a sets of gloves over to Daichi.

Daichi held back the overhanging petals while Suga got to work on the plant.

"How have your classes been," Suga asked, carefully snipping and collecting the leaves.

Daichi shrugged. "Pretty good. Most of the classes are same as always and I'm sure Mananda will be...informational at least."

Suga smiled wryly. "That's certainly the nicest descriptor I've heard so far. What electives did you chose?"

"Basic Dueling for my first," Daichi told him before giving him a sheepish grin. "I have to admit I'm glad Professor Ukai is taking that one over this year. I don't think I could handle two classes with Mananda."

"Even if they're so informational," Suga joked.

"Even then," Daichi smiled back, careful not to let the plant petals fall on Suga's hands. "For my other, I'm taking Muggle Studies."

"Oh, I'm taking that, too," Suga said excitedly. "I'm so glad I know someone else in the class. All my friends chose Care of Magical Creatures for their second."

"Really?" Daichi asked. "Both me and Asahi are taking it. It's the class I'm most looking forward."

Suga nodded eagerly. "Me, too! Kuroo and Bokuto both said they'd think about it for next year but Iwaizumi and Oikawa thought it would be a waste of time since they grew up Muggle."

"I guess that makes sense," Daichi agreed. "Did you hear this year, the professor's trying to get an actual muggle television to work in the castle?"

"Really," Suga asked, sniping off the last few leaves. "I've never seen one before."

Daichi leaned down conspiratorially. "Yeah, Ennoshita said that his family has one at home and that almost all the Muggle families have at least one."

Suga shook his head. "That sounds amazing!"

"I know, right?" Daichi said, grinning widely and slipping off of his gloves.

Daichi cleared his throat, leaning on the table. "You know...um, maybe, since we're both in that class together-"

"Daichi!"

"-we could study some time," Daichi finished.

"Daichi! YOUR HAND!" Suga shouted, frantically gesturing down to where Daichi had sat is unprotected hand on the leaves Suga had just cut.

Daichi quickly yanked his hand away, but not before it started turning an odd shade of green.

"That's...bad, right?" Daichi asked nervously.

"PROFESSOR SHIMADA!" Suga called and the young professor hurried over, grabbing Daichi's hand and looking closely.

"Just a small scratch," Shimada reassured. "Nothing a quick trip to the Hospital Wing won't cure up."

Suga breathed out in relief and Daichi sent him another shy smile before turning back to the professor.

"Should I wait until after class or go now," Daichi asked.

"Definitely now," Shimada told him firmly. "And you'll need to take someone with you before the side effect kicks in."

"Okay," Daichi nodded. "Suga would you mind-Wait, what side effect?"

"Nothing to worry about, just the usual ones for the Viper Verita Lilly," Shimada told him. "With a cut this small, it'll probably won't last more than a half hour."

"Ah...and the usual side effect is," Daichi asked.

Shimada and Suga both looked at him, frowning.

"Truth compulsion, of course," Shimada answered, pointing to Suga's open text book. "Why do you think it's the main ingredient for Veritaserum?"

"Oh," Daichi said in a voice sounding increasingly strained. "Then, I'm just going to…"

"I'll take him to the Hospital Wing, Professor," Asahi offered from the next table over. "Michimiya and I already finished."

"Yes," Daichi said quickly. "I'll go with Asahi. _Immediately._ "

Shimada nodded and waved them off, turning back to Suga while Daichi almost bolted out of the green house with Asahi on his heels.

"Are you fine finishing up by yourself, Sugawara," the professor asked.

"Sure," Suga told him. "Daichi and I were already close to done anyway. I just need to dry and store the leaves."

"Excellent," Shimada smiled before something at another table caught his eye. "Excuse me."

"Go save Oikawa," Suga laughed, watching as Oikawa almost infected himself for the third time this class while Iwaizumi angrily swatted his hand away.

Suga smiled. For such a genius in the rest of magic, practical Herbology really wasn't Oikawa's strong suit.

Back at his table, Suga muttered a quick drying spell over the leaves before carefully wrapping them up in parchment and walking them over to the storage cabinet in the back of the greenhouse. Professor Irihata-the Potions Master-and Professor Shimada had a long standing agreement to work together to get the students experience in potions gathering and potion creating. What this meant practically was a lot of dangerous and mildly rare plants were grown and gathered in the Hogwarts Herbology classes to later be used by those very students in their Potions class.

 _Speaker?_ A quiet voice asked, interrupting Suga's absent minded thoughts.

Suga looked down to see a small green garden snake curled at the bottom of the cabinet. It's narrowed eyes turned up towards the boy.

Suga briefly closed his eyes, wondering if he should bother responding. Eventually, his better hearted nature won out over his bred Slytherin wariness.

Suga checked to make sure none of his classmates were around before whispering, _Yes. Do you need any help?_

The snake bobbed his head in a gesture that reminded Suga of a nod. _I came into the glass home before the warm light had reached the sky and your fellow humans had come. Now, I'm afraid to leave less one of your kind points a fire-bad-danger stick at me._

Suga hesitated. _If you wait until the sun sets, the students should clear out and you'll be able to get out._

 _I do not wish to stay in this dangerous place,_ the snake hissed. _I ask for aid, Speaker._

Suga sighed, thinking through his options. When wizards wondered about Parseltongues, they normally speculated on how dark and evil it was to be able to control snakes. Little ever talked about how snakes could be just as demanding themselves.

...or maybe that was only because Suga was a pushover. He didn't know.

Either way, Suga bent down by the cabinet. _Climb up and hide in my sleeve. I'll take you back outside._

The snake did the head bob thing again before quickly slithering up Suga's hand and into his sleeve. Suga waited until he could feel the snake coil around his upper arm before standing up, feeling immensely grateful for the loose hanging robes.

Careful not to jostle the snake, Suga walked back to his desk and packed up his stuff before heading out of the greenhouse-shooting a quick motion to Iwaizumi and Oikawa that he'd wait for them outside.

Suga made sure he was far enough away from the greenhouse, right at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, before bending down and letting his small green passenger unwind from his arm and slithering onto the dirt bellow.

 _My thanks, Speaker,_ the snake hissed. _I will tell the rest of my kind of your generosity._

 _There's really no need,_ Suga hissed back quickly. The last thing he needed was a bunch of snakes following him and asking for favors. _Just stay safe and avoid any more greenhouses._

The snake head bobbed before slithering away into the forest.

"Were-were you just hissing at that _snake_ ," a loud voice demanded from behind him and Suga quickly turned, his heart in his throat.

Fifth year Gryffindor Mori Ryota stood, looking at Suga with an expression mixed between fear and revulsion. His dormmate Hayashi Taiyo backed him up, a few paces behind.

"Of course not," Suga replied, frowning in a way that he hoped looked confused. "I just thought I'd wait out here for my friends and thought I saw a snake," Suga grimaced and pretended to shudder. "Good thing it slithered away."

Mori was still looking at him like he was deciding between getting as far away as he could or picking a fight. It was a rather familiar look for Suga.

Eventually, he apparently decided for fight

"D-dad says your family should all be in Azkaban." he gave Suga a withering look. "And I can't say I disagree."

Suga flushed. "I'm not like my family.

Mori rolled his eyes. "As if a Sugawara could be anything different. Probably just annoyed because a filthy mudblood like me isn't bending down to kiss your robes." Mori took a breath and seemingly drew upon his Gryffindor courage. Suga would really rather he didn't. "L-listen to this. I'm not some kind of halfblood that's going to be easily pushed around by your likes. Come after me and I'll curse you before you can even mutter a spell."

"I'm sure you would," Suga said, maintaining a calm even tone. From his experience, that tended to be the best way for people to leave him alone quicker.

"Alright, Mori," Hayashi sighed tiredly. "You've made your point. Let's get out of here and stop wasting our breath."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," a cheery voice called down and Suga looked up to see Iwaizumi and Oikawa walking down from the greenhouse.

"I'd say anywhere you two are is a waste, Hayashi" Oikawa finished with a smile that was much too sharp to be friendly. Iwaizumi was glowering behind him but for once the glare wasn't directed at Oikawa. "Surely, you aren't messing with my dear good friend Suga here."

Mori scowled but allowed Hayashi to pull him away, muttering a quick "Traitor" under his breath as he passed Oikawa.

Oikawa either didn't hear him or flat out didn't care. Suga was willing to bet on the later.

"That was unnecessary," Suga said quietly, though his words lacked any bite. His heart was still beating oddly fast from the sudden relief of seeing them coming to his defense.

"They're unnecessary," Oikawa corrected, swinging a free arm around Suga. "Now, let's get going, troublemaker, before Kuroo and Bokuto eat our lunch."

"It's the Great Hall," Iwaizumi said flatly. "I'm pretty sure they'll be enough to go around."

Iwaizumi gave Suga a quick questioning look and Suga smiled, gesturing that he was fine. Iwaizumi nodded and let the silent conversation drop.

"True, but now we have to tell them how big bad Suga is starting fights with fifth years," Oikawa drawled, wiggling his eyebrows in a ridiculous expression.

Suga laughed. "I didn't start a fight."

"No, but we won it," Oikawa corrected. "And that's even better."

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes and the three walked up together to the caste. "Oikawa probably just doesn't want to mention almost poisoning himself _eight_ times in one Herbology lesson."

"But, I _didn't_ poison myself," Oikawa reminded triumphantly.

Iwaizumi huffed, leaning over to Suga. "I think he's trying to beat last year's record."

"Poor Professor Shimada," Suga said, shaking his head.

"Poor me," Oikawa emphasized. "And, whatever, I'll pull it up in the essay portion like normal."

Suga smiled and settled in between his two friends for the walk back to the Great Hall. Consciously, he shoved all thoughts of snakes and the words of the fifth years to the back of his mind. And, if he still felt a twinge of fear and misplaced regret...well, at least, it was easier to ignore when surrounded by company.

 _ooooooo_

"Aw, man," Hinata groaned, digging through his bag as the three left the Great Hall after lunch.

"What's wrong," Yachi asked.

"I left that diary in the dorm room," Hinata frowned before shrugging it off. " I guess I'll grab it tomorrow"

"What diary?" demanded Kageyama, confused and looking annoyed about being so.

"Oh," Hinata said, realizing he might should have led with that. "I found this old diary in the middle of the stairwell yesterday so I was going to turn it in to Lost and Found today."

"Who's diary is it," Yachi asked curiously.

"I don't know," Hinata told her, slinging the bag back over his shoulder. "I thought it be weird to just like go through it or something.

"It's weirder to turn it into Lost and Found," Kageyama argued, scrunching up his face. "Anyone could read it then."

"What was I supposed to do? Just leave it?" Hinata asked, sticking out his tongue.

With the ease of practice, Yachi ignored them and focused on the question at hand. "I don't know. I mean if it was my diary," Yachi blushed. "I definitely wouldn't just want it lying in the hall….but I don't think I'd like it just left in Lost and Found either." She hummed. "Maybe, you just try turning to the first couple of pages and giving it to them directly. That way...well, it might still be embarrassing but at least they know no one else read it."

Hinata looked unconvinced.

Kageyama rolled his eyes. "Just throw it away then!"

"That's even more rude," Hinata said, sighing dramatically. "...maybe I should've just left it."

Yachi patted his back. "The name could be on the cover page or something."

Hinata shrugged. "Still weird."

"You're weird," Kageyama shot back.

"You're weirder."

"You're the weirdest."

"You're the most weirdest."

"You're the most _most_ weirdest."

"That doesn't make sense!"

Yachi let out a long suffering sigh and dragged them down the hall.

ooooooo

That night found Yamaguchi and Tsukishima wandering down the Hogwarts hallways in what Yamaguchi would call a "nice enough walk" and what Tsukishima would correct to a "pointless time wasting endeavor."

Yamaguchi laughed. "You're being too negative, Tsuki! Daichi had a point, this is way better than last year."

"Just because it's better doesn't make it enjoyable," Tsukishima muttered, placing the first of the interlocking map charms on the new hall they had just entered.

The charms really were easy-one charm to monitor the attached area, one to reflect back to the map, and one to identify the persons passing through. All invisible when placed correctly. The trouble, as Tsukishima had complained at length, was the time they took. Each new hall or room had to have the three charms placed on every wall, ceiling and floor for it to work-making it take forever even without having to trounce around one end of the castle to the other.

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi had volunteered to take the east first floor of the castle-which alone would take them at least two weeks-while Asahi and Daichi were taking the west first floor. Finally, Tanaka and Noya were taking the towers and the stairwells, using their brooms to reach the ceilings. Ennoshita was monitoring the later two to make sure they didn't end up killing themselves while trying to place charms.

Yamaguchi finished on his side of the wall before gesturing to the ceiling.

Tsukishima sighed, pointing his wand at his friend. " _Wingardium Leviosa."_

Yamaguchi levitated the needed three extra feet and made quick work of the charm on the ceiling.

"There's _so many_ better things we could be doing instead of this," Tsukishima complained, lowering Yamaguchi back down before bending over to do the last charm on the floor.

"True," Yamaguchi admitted. "But more than likely if we weren't doing this, we'd probably just end up in the third year's dorm while you bickered with Noya and Tanaka in person."

"Don't call it bickering, it implies the exchange is equal," Tsukishima corrected.

Yamaguchi rolled his eyes.

"And besides, " Tsukishima added. "I like insulting them in person. I can't even see their reactions when it's just complaining to you."

"If it helps, I'll try to look appropriately outraged," Yamaguchi told him, starting down the hall while Tsukishima double checked the charms.

"Yamaguchi," Tsukishima began.

"Yes, Tsuki!"

"Shut up."

"Sorry, Tsuki," Yamaguchi apologized but he hadn't stopped smiling,

The two turned the next corner and set on repeating the task.

"Have you thought of a name yet like Noya suggested," Yamaguchi asked.

"Names are stupid. We don't need one," Tsukishima responded, starting on the left wall.

"So you don't have one," Yamaguchi checked.

"No," the Slytherin responded flatly.

"You know Noya and Tanaka aren't going to drop it until we get one," Yamaguchi told him.

"I don't see why that means I have to get involved any more than I have to," Tsukishima sighed.

"Weellll," Yamaguchi started, drawing out the word. "I just thought that you might want to come up with one because if not you're going to be stuck with whatever they come up with."

Tsukishima scrunched up his face in distaste, obviously caught between being stuck with a terrible name or actually taking part in the nonsense himself.

Yamaguchi laughed, placing the charms on the floor while Tsukishima stood conflicted.

"I'm going to go check the next hall to see how many rooms are off it," Yamaguchi told him. "I don't think we have time to do many more before curfew and Daichi wanted us to meet back up before that."

Tsukishima gestured for him to go ahead, stepping on a nearby bench to reach the ceiling.

Barely a moment later, Tsukishima heard the scream.

Yamaguchi's scream.

Without pausing, the taller boy lept down from the bench and sprinted own the hall, turning the corner, and...running straight in to Yamaguchi's back.

"Ow," Tsukishima said annoyed, rubbing his nose. "Why did you scream?"

Not turning back, Yamaguchi pointed wordlessly in front of him. Tsukishima followed his finger, letting out a sharp gasp.

There, in front of one of Hogwart's wide windows and standing like a statue, was an unmoving body dressed clearly in the Hogwarts robes.

Cautiously, Tsukishima stepped forward, moving to examine the body closer. The body-if it even was that?-was turned away from them. Tsukishima, for all that he was scrapping for a cool steady demeanor, couldn't quite bring himself to walk around and look at its face.

"Is-is it alive?" Yamaguchi asked, nervously, coming to stand beside him.

"I'm not sure," Tsukishima said, hesitantly reaching to press two fingers to the neck and check for a pulse

"It's...cold," Tsukishima frowned. "There's no give in it...It's like stone."

"Do you think we should…" Yamaguchi left the sentence unfinished but Tsukishima nodded. Yes, they should probably try to get a better view.

Yamaguchi reached out and grabbed Tsukishima's elbow and the normally reserved Slytherin couldn't quite express how much relief that small gesture gave him.

Slowly and with obvious hesitance, the two walked to stand between the body and the window-finally getting a good view of the person.

Yamaguchi gasped. "That's Mori Ryota, he's a fifth year Gryffindor!"

The face-and it was now quite obviously not a statue-was frozen in a mask of confusion with just the very beginnings of fear making the eyes seem wider than normal. The mouth was open as if ready to call out...something?

Thinking clinically so as not to deal with the cold fear clenching his chest, Tsukishima ran the symptoms over in his head. They clicked and the Slytherin turned to meet his friends eyes, heart hammering in his chest.

"Yamaguchi, go get a professor _now._ "

Yamaguchi's eyes widened and he half turned to run down the hall before pausing. "Tsuki, do you know what happened?"

Tsukishima nodded grimly. "He's been petrified."

ooooooo

A/N: Sorry, it's a bit late. As always, thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed!

Next Chapter: A Chill in the Air


	5. A Chill in the Air

Around the castle, there was a kind of macabre excitement that thrilled through the students voices as they discussed the petrification of Mori Ryota-a mix of worry tempered by drama and speculation that made it by far, the most interesting piece of Hogwarts gossip.

Hinata was not immune to the phenomenon.

"But seriously, what do you think happened," asked Hinata, gesturing excitedly with his fork and accidentally flinging pieces of eggs on a nearby Kageyama.

"Nobody knows, Dummy," Kageyama glared, harshly wiping his cheek with a napkin.

Hinata sighed heavily. "Duh, but what do you think _might've_ happened? I didn't even know what petri-petricacation-"

"Petrification," corrected Yachi.

"Petrification was until this morning! That's so cool! Like a statue or something," Hinata continued.

"Not cool for Mori Ryota," Kenma commented.

"Pft," Lev answered, already caught up in Hinata's excitement. "The professors said he'd be fine by the time the mandrake's matured. If anything, he's lucky 'cause he gets to skip classes."

"Missing classes is terrifying enough," Yachi shuddered. "I can't imagine having to make up an entire year like they're talking about."

"Oh," Hinata winced, feeling a tiny bit guilty. "I thought he was only going to be out like a week or something. Why don't they already have the mandrake stuff?"

"Petrifications are rare, even in the Wizarding World," Kenma said.

"Super duper rare," Lev put in. "That's why it's so exciting!"

"Hardly anyone keeps something as difficult as Mandrake Restorative Potion in stock," Kenma finished.

"They better figure out what happened soon," Kageyama said, stabbing at his ham. "Inuoka said they might postpone the Quidditch match if they don't."

Hinata dropped his fork, horrified.

"I'm sure that's just a rumor," Yachi reassured. "The school wouldn't cancel Quidditch unless it was an absolute emergency

The table-except Kenma-looked immediately relieved while the Ravenclaw third year let out a disappointed sigh.

"Awesome!" Hinata stood up and grabbed his bag. "That would suck if we didn't get to have our rematch with Ravenclaw!" He beamed at Kenma. "It's going to be amazing!"

Kenma lip quirked up slightly. "I look forward to it."

"I gotta go see Suga and ask about tutoring," Hinata said, boosting the bag over his shoulder.

"Ask him if he knows anything about Mananda's last lecture," Yachi urged.

Lev groaned. "That class is the worst! I'd petrify _myself_ just to get out of it."

Kenma glared while Kageyama nodded fervently in agreement.

"I'll ask him," Hinata told Yachi.

"Be careful walking alone, Shouyou," Kenma said before he could leave. "We still don't know if what happened to Mori could happen to someone else."

"I'll be fine," Hinata brushed him off and started to the Great Hall's massive doorway.

"I hate it when he says that," muttered Kenma and Yachi patted his shoulder, comfortingly.

ooooooo

 _Okay, so how many things can petrify a person?,_ Oikawa wrote during the Slytherin-Ravenclaw shared Defense Against the Dark Arts Lesson.

 _Don't you think we should be paying attention to_ _class_ _?,_ came Suga's small crisp calligraphy.

 _Nah,_ Kuroo wrote back from his seat on Oikawa's right. _I'm 1,000% sure that petrified students will impact me more than the Hypothesis of Gravitational Reversal._

 _; )_ Oikawa wrote, sending an answering smirk to Kuroo along with the written wink.

 _Just one student,_ Suga pointed out. _We don't know if this is something to be concerned about yet._

 _True, but knowing our luck, what are the chances?_ Oikawa responded. _So, I write again_ _what can petrify a person_ _?_

 _Potions are the main thing,_ Kuroo wrote back. _Suga-you're the main potions guru. Help us out!_

Suga sighed, a small sound that went unnoticed amidst the general disappointment of Mananda's lesson.

 _I know there's a strain of Draught of the Living Dead that can,_ Suga paused, his quill tapping on the paper. _But there's a number of others that have similar effects. I'll try to compile a list after tonight's tutoring with Hinata but we likely won't be able to tell without examining the effects in person._

 _Sneak into the Hospital Wing?_ Kuroo suggested quickly.

 _Only if you actually want to be murdered by your Head of House,_ Suga wrote.

 _Nekomata wouldn't_ _murder_ _me. Probs just maim a bit. Maybe poison._

 _Anything other than potions?_ Oikawa wrote.

 _I think there might be a few spells?_ Kuroo wrote. _Dark ones-I don't know much about them._

Suga frowned, leaning down to write.

 _They don't last this long anyway. Petrification spells aren't meant to last more than a few hours without causing lasting body damage. It's why they're classified as dark._ The other two boys politely didn't ask why Suga knew this and Suga quickly moved on the discussion. _I know there's one or two magical creatures that petrify but that seems unlikely in the middle of a castle._

 _Are any of the creatures small enough to sneak around unnoticed,_ Oikawa asked.

Suga shrugged. _Creatures aren't exactly my specialty._

 _Probably not,_ Kuroo wrote. _Petrifications mean A LOT of magic. Creature would have to be_ _big_ _to pull that off._

 _So, probably a potion but we can't know which one without risking murder via pissed off Mediwizard,_ Oikawa wrote.

 _And this might all turn out to be nothing,_ Suga commented and even on paper, his words had a hopeful tinge. _And we should be listening to the lecture before we fail._

Oikawa looked up to give Suga a flat look, unaware Mananda was simultaneously trying to cajole _any_ of the class into answering the latest question.

"Ah, Mr. Oikawa, isn't it?" Mananda smiled, mild desperation in his eyes. "Can you tell us how the Hypothesis of Gravitational Reversal translates on an equational level?"

In the corner of Oikawa's vision, Suga hid a small smile and mouthed "Told you."

Oikawa smiled sweetly. "Sure, it's magical force at an expressed level should be equal to the overall mass of an object plus the gravitational pull divided by inherent magical energy. All of which is normally accounted for at the subconscious level."

The rest of the class only exceptions being Suga, who was rolling his eyes; Kuroo, who was snickering; and Matsukawa and Hanamaki, who were trying to discreetly shoot paper airplanes into Oikawa's hair.

"Good!" Mananda answered with a relieved smile. "Five points to Slytherin. Now, of course, the subconscious level leads into what's referred to as the Innate Magical Consciousness Theorem which states…."

Oikawa tuned him out and turned back to the paper.

 _Pls, Suga, as if I'd let a little thing like terrible teaching keep me from studying. I checked out all of Mananda's books from the library ages ago._

 _Nerd,_ Kuroo wrote back as if Oikawa hadn't seen the same books in his bag.

 _Now,_ Oikawa wrote. _Let's go back to things that are actually important!_

Suga conceded defeat and the three bent back over the paper, ignoring Mananda's increasingly complex and unhelpful attempts at teaching. This attempt ended up being a short endeavor as it was only a few minutes later that Mananda finally cleared his throat and conceded defeat-at least for this class.

"We'll cover more on the Innate Magical Consciousness Theorem next time," Mananda announced to the immediate relief of the class. "Be reading up on it. I expect at least a meter and a half essay on it by next week."

"A meter and a half," complained Saru from Slytherin.

"Don't worry," Mananda reassured with a smile. "I'll have no problem accepting longer papers as well."

The class filed out of the room in its by now usual state of annoyance.

As soon as they got out of immediate earshot of the classroom, Oikawa sighed. "Well, I suppose I know what we're doing this weekend."

Passing by, Hanamaki and Matsukawa let out a twin moans before disappearing to parts of the castles unknown.

Kuroo grimaced. "I'll catch you after History of Magic and we can head to the library for research. Gotta go grab Bo before he 'forgets' we have class again."

The two Slytherins nodded and watched Kuroo walk off down the hall.

"What do you want to do for the free period," Suga asked.

Oikawa rolled his shoulders, thinking. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to head to the library and start early. Maybe compile that list of petrification potions?"

"Sounds good," Suga agreed, starting the walk.

He'd just turned the corner when a hurried figure unexpectedly ran into Suga's shoulder.

"Oh, sorry," Suga replied automatically, reaching to the wall to steady himself. "Are you okay?"

The figure looked up and Suga saw the wide eyes of Hayashi Taiyo before the Gryffindor fifth year practically bolted in the opposite direction.

Watching him go, Suga frowned before Oikawa finally shrugged.

"He's probably just upset over what happened to Mori," Oikawa said, starting their walk back to the library. "They're pretty close."

Oikawa spared a glance over at Suga and saw that the other boy was still frowning.

"By the way, I've been meaning to ask you," Oikawa started, watching closely for changes in his friend's expressions. "How are you doing with the whole Mori petrification business? I know you two weren't exactly getting along. Not feeling guilty or anything crazy like that, are you?"

Suga shook his head, though his frown didn't relax. "No." Suga paused. "I guess it's...strange mostly. I don't really know him. After Herbology was the first time I ever really talked to him and you know how that went. Even that wasn't anything I hadn't heard before…" Suga bit his lip. "I don't know. I guess I feel bad for him that it happened but...I'm glad it wasn't someone else that I cared more about. Is that terrible?"

Oikawa rolled his eyes. "That you care more about your friends than some jerk who basically threatened you. Yeah, Suga, absolutely awful. Honestly, with that attitude, you might as well join Bokuto in Hufflepuff."

Suga laughed and the frown finally disappeared. "Heaven forbid! And trade in out our dorm's own unique charm?"

Oikawa sniffed in an imitation of haughtiness. "Remember, it's not everywhere that can pull off dungeon elegance, Suga. It's an acquired taste."

Suga smiled and the two continued down to their usual library table.

ooooooo

"Surely," Tsukishima drawled as the group gathered that night in the third year boys' dorm. "We're not actually stupid enough to continue trouncing through the halls at night when a student was attacked-just to make a map."

"Of course, we are!" Noya said before pausing. "Wait, no, that was about the map part not the stupid part. We're definitely still making the map. Right, guys?"

"Right!" Tanaka answered promptly.

The rest of the room looked significantly less certain.

Daichi sighed. "We may want to look into different projects for the year. Ones that don't involve going through the halls at night."

"C'mon, guys!" Noya tried, looking around and seeing cautious faces. "Where's your Gryffindor courage?"

"It died in infancy along with your common sense," Tsukishima responded flatly, only to be lightly whacked by Yamaguchi with a muttered, "be nice, Tsuki."

"Think about it like this, though," Noya said, directing is attention at Daichi. "We've got to go around Hogwarts anyway for classes, right?"

"...Noya," Daichi started.

"I suppose," Asahi answered and Noya seized on that, turning bright eyes on the older Gryffindor.

"Right! So, if we gotta be in the castle anyway, why not finish the map?" Noya exclaimed.

"I'm not sure it's a good idea," Daichi said firmly. "Maybe after they figure out what happened we can start again...but do you _really_ want to keep it up while Yamaguchi and Tsukishima are still probably shaken from the last time?"

"I-I'm fine really," Yamaguchi argued, but his hand shook slightly as he answered. Tsukishima still looked mainly bored, but then again he was proving to be one of the fiercest arguers against the map.

Daichi nodded as if Yamaguchi had agreed with him. "It's not safe to go purposely looking for unexplored parts of the castle in the middle of the night."

"Then we don't have to do it at night," Tanaka said suddenly, everyone turning to him. "We can do it in between classes and after lunch and junk! That'll still work, yeah? It's like Noya said we already have to be in the halls then anyway. And it's not like the teachers have specifically _said_ anything about the halls being dangerous."

"This was probably an isolated incident," Ennoshita spoke up for the first time.

Daichi looked toward the normally reasonable boy before looking around to the rest of the group. "I guess it wouldn't be that bad if we continued it during the day instead of the night. But only if we all agree. Yamaguchi, Tsukishima, how do you feel about that?"

"I can do it," Yamaguchi said firmly, a fire behind his eyes that seemed momentarily stronger than his nervousness. "I...I think we should keep going. At least, if it's still during the day." He chuckled nervously. "Besides, I don't just want to stop in the middle or anything!"

Tsukishima looked at his friend and the two had a silent conversation. Finally, Tsukishima sighed. "Maps are still stupid time-wasters but I suppose I'll be fine."

Daichi nodded. "Alright then. We'll continue the map in between classes."

"Yes!" Noya shouted. "This maps going to be awesome, guys! Just wait."

Tsukishima glared and looked like he was seriously regretting every second that led him to this room.

ooooooo

"Thanks, Suga!" Hinata said brightly, bouncing out the door after tutoring. "Yachi's going to be sooooo happy about your help on the Defense notes."

"Anytime," Suga smiled before his brows drew together. "Hinata, you're not walking back alone, are you? It's late."

"Pft, Kenma said the same thing this morning," Hinata waved a hand dismissively. "You both worry too much."

Suga gave him a dry look. "You at least won't mind letting me walk you back up, right?"

"Sure," Hinata chirped, starting down the hall in the direction of the stairs. Suga followed after. "Suga! Did I tell you about the new stuff Bokuto has us working on for Quidditch?!"

Suga's lip quirked up. "I'm pretty sure I heard Bokuto talking about it a few days ago. But, I'd love to hear it from you."

Hinata beamed, practically bouncing in place. "It's so awesome! I gotta focus like super super hard on how I throw it so instead of the Quaffle going like _zwoom-_ like it usually does, you know?-but now it goes like _fwick_ and then the Keeper dives for it but it hits off and still goes in and then we score and it's so cool!"

Suga nodded along, even though he didn't have a clue what Hinata was talking about.

"OH!" Hinata continued, pausing for Suga at the top of the stairs before continuing down the next hall. "And Kageyama's working on this other thing. That's something about timing? I don't really get it but it makes getting the Quaffle and dodging around the Beaters easier so that's awesome!" He turned to Suga. "You're coming to our game against Gryffindor, right?"

Suga nodded. "Next week, right?"

Hinata nodded, head bouncing like a bobble head. "Yep! I'm so excited! Last year, they were so awesome and their Seeker always seems so cool!" Hinata paused, head tilting. "Not that Mad Dog isn't cool and awesome, too. He's just...super scary at first and like growls and frowns a lot….though I guess Kageyama does that, too."

"I'm glad you're excited," Suga said. "How are your classes going?"

Hinata blinked owlishly before grinning. "Hey, did I tell you Irihata gave me an 'E' on the summer homework assignment!"

Suga ruffled his hair lightly. "Great job!".

The two finally came to a stop outside of the Hufflepuff common room.

"You want to come in, Suga," Hinata asked, turning to the Slytherin. "You know Hufflepuff let's all the Houses in the common room...though, I think Bokuto said something in Quidditch practice about studying with Akaashi tonight."

Suga shook his head. "I actually should go back and work on Mananda's Defense essay."

"But, now _you're_ walking alone, Suga!" Hinata complained.

"I should be fine," Suga smiled. "It's only a bit from here to the library anyway. And I'm meeting Oikawa and Iwaizumi there."

Hinata huffed. "See, this is why all the worrying stuff is so confusing. Everyone always says _they're_ fine but they always worry so much about everyone else.!"

Rolling his eyes fondly, Suga gently pushed Hinata in the direction of the common room. "Good night, Hinata."

"Night, Suga!" Hinata said, tapping out the sequence that opened the common room entrance.

With one last wave, Hinata stepped in to the warm cheery atmosphere of the Hufflepuff House and saw his roommates scattered around a table playing a game of Exploding Snaps.

"Hey, guys," Hinata said, leaning down in between Kageyama and Shibayama. "I'm back from tutoring."

"Hinata, help," groaned Inuoka. "Sakunami is _killing_ us."

Across the circle, Sakunami smiled sharply and tapped his wand to collect another two pairs. A card near the edge of the circle exploded, covering Inuoka's face in fine black powder,

Shibayama moaned and Kageyama growled under his breath.

"Want to join the next round," Sakunami asked, ignoring them.

"Sure," Hinata replied immediately. "Just let me go put my bag in the room,"

Receiving a nod from the group, Hinata hurried up the stairs and swung into the second room down the hall-the second year Hufflepuff's dorm. Careful not to disturb the potion's ingredients, Hinata unloaded the bag onto the trunk at the end of his bed when the black edge of a book caught his eye.

"Aww," Hinata said, picking up the diary. "I forgot again."

Hinata chewed absently his lip, thinking of Yachi's idea. Maybe it would be better to try to find the owner directly rather than dropping it in the Lost and Found.

He supposed it at least wouldn't hurt to check.

Pushing aside the odd feeling of intrusion, Hinata let out a slow breath and opened the diary.

...to an almost completely blank page.

Hinata frowned and looked down at the only piece of writing the page contained-a date.

"August 14, 1937," Hinata read aloud. _That's over 80 years ago?_

As soon as the words left his mouth, more words started to appear under the date until finally a whole paragraph emerged for Hinata to read.

 _Dear Future Descendant,_

 _As today is my eleventh birthday and as I'm about to leave for Hogwarts where I will certainly become a famous and powerful wizard, Father has given me this diary to write in as it will no doubt be interesting for future generations._

 _As this is my first entry,_ _I guess I should start...I mean_ _it is appropriate that I include receiving the diary. I've never created a pensieve before_ _so I hope I'm doing this right,_ _but I'm sure I'll be able to manage._

Hinata blinked and the words disappeared, sinking into the page. He barely had time to wonder what they meant.

In front of him, the diary grew closer and there was a moment of sheer panic because _Hinata wasn't moving it._ Hinata then went through the most peculiar sensation he'd ever experienced. His stomach trembled and it he felt dizzy and disoriented-like he'd somehow tripped and was falling before even registering he'd moved.

Trying to find balance, Hinata scrunched his eyes shut and took a steadying breath, hoping the world would steady.A force pressed down hard on him-squeezing him until Hinata nearly screamed. His eyes flew open and all he could see was a blurry fog, surrounding him from all sides.

On instinct, Hinata pulled hard at the magic inside him and _pushed._.

The pressure stopped.

The fog receded...or rather, the fog solidified and suddenly Hinata found himself in an ornate office surrounded by books.

With the diary held firmly in his other hand, Hinata clutched his chest and tried to get his heartbeat back under control. He looked around, blinking and nearly choked in shock.

There was someone else in the room-a man sitting behind a oak desk with an impassive expression.

"Ah, excuse me," Hinata said.

The man didn't look up.

"Um, where am I?" Hinata tried again, walking forward. "Do you know?"

The man shifted in his chair but, other than that, acted like Hinata wasn't even there.

"Can you hear me?" Hinata leaned forward, putting a hand on the desk...which his hand immediately went through, dispersing the desk into black fog that re-solidified once Hinata snatched back his hand.

"Are you-are you a ghost?" Hinata asked, backing up to the wall to try to get distance between him and the man.

The man looked up and Hinata nearly screamed before he noticed that the man was looking passed him and to a boy, standing unnoticed by the office door.

"Hisashi, sit down," the man said, voice deep and polished. Hinata blinked and moved to the side to watch the two.

"Of course, Father," the boy-Hisashi, he supposed-sat. "You wished to see me?"

The man nodded. "I have a gift for you-something for your birthday."

Hinata watched as the boy's eyes lit up. "Really?"

The man frowned. "Of course 'really'. Why would I say something untrue? Do not waste your words on pointless questions, Hisashi. It only makes one appear foolish."

Hisashi looked down, a blush crossing his face. "Yes, Father. I apologize."

If anything, the man looked more displeased. "Noroi's don't apologize. Remember our family's words."

The boy's blush spread. "Superbiam Nunquam Cadere. Pride Will Never Fall."

Hinata wrinkled his face, thinking that seemed like a stupid motto. But the man appeared satisfied, moving on and pulling out a book from one of the desk drawers.

A really familiar book, Hinata realized, leaning forward. A book looked a lot like the one he himself still clutched tightly in his right hand.

"Do you know what this is, Hisashi?" the man asked.

"A diary," Hisashi answered, voice caught between a question and an attempt at a confident tone.

"Correct," the man smiled. "A pensive diary. Incredibly rare and exceptionally expensive. As is fitting for the Heir of a noble family."

The man extended the diary and Hisashi quickly reached forward to take it, holding it close to his chest like a treasure.

"Thank you, Father."

The man nodded. "I want you to use it to record your time at school. It may not seem like it but one day those memories will be a treasure that you can pass on to your children and your children's children." The man's face looked suddenly wistful. "They may even prove to be the best days of your life."

Hisashi nodded, expression eager and soaking up every new word like a sponge.

"It has the usual security precautions on it so you shouldn't have to worry about it falling into the wrong hands," the man continued. "You will use it. Won't you, Hisashi?"

"Of course," the boy replied immediately. "If you would like, I can even show it to you during the breaks so you can see it, too."

The man gave a small frown, glancing at the papers that scattered his desk. "...We'll see. You are dismissed, Hisashi."

Hisashi stood up at the dismissal, diary still held close.

The man had already turned back to his desk.

Hisashi made it almost fully to the door before he stopped, a moment away from opening it.

"Father?"

"Yes, Hisashi," the man said, without looking up.

Hinata saw Hisashi bite his lip and Hinata took an unnoticed step towards him in support.

"What if...what if I don't get sorted into Slytherin," Hisashi finally asked.

The man looked up, eyebrows furrowing. "Hisashi, what did I just say about pointless questions?"

"Oh," the boy looked down. "Sorr-I'll go to my room then."

The man waved a hand and the door opened for Hisashi.

Hisashi shot one more look up at his father before finally stepping through the door.

The ground lurched and the entire room was swept away in smoke, leaving nothing but a white fog.

 _Aw, man. Not again!_ Hinata barely had time to groan before he heard something else through the fog.

"-nata. Hinata?"

Hinata blinked and suddenly he was back in his dorm room, diary in hands and Shibayama looking at him curiously.

"Hinata?," Shibayama asked. "You okay? You were kind of zoned out there for a second. You didn't come down for the next round. You still want in?"

Hinata stared at his roommate before glancing back down at the diary.

"...um, I think," Hinata started. "...I think I'm going to just stay here. I...might've been more tired than I thought."

Shibayama shrugged, heading for the door. "Okay. If you change your mind, you know where to find us."

"Thanks," Hinata said, staring at the diary. He absently noticed Shibayama closing the door behind him.

New words were slowly forming on the blank page.

 _As you can see, descendant, even great future wizards still have moments to learn. I'm lucky to have a father so willing to help me. And how foolish a question. Of course, I'll be in Slytherin. It's in my blood, my heritage. Surely, not even a mangy old hat can deny its Heir their rightful place-the very notion of a Noroi not in Slytherin is ridiculous._

 _Anyway, I leave for Hogwarts in a few weeks and I look forward to_ _learning to become a powerful wizard._

 _Superbiam Nunquam Cadere_

 _Hisashi Noroi_

...well, Hinata definitely had to tell Yachi and Kageyama about this.

ooooooo

A/N: Thank you everyone for all the support I've gotten with this story! As always, hope you enjoyed.

Next Chapter: Writing on the Wall


	6. Writing on the Wall

"Guys!" Hinata nearly yelled, seeing Kageyama and Yachi _finally_ make their way down to breakfast. Sometimes it really sucked being the only one who liked waking up early.

"What," Kageyama said blearily, slipping into the seat next to Hinata with a yawn.

"How can you still be tired," huffed Hinata.

Kageyama managed a weak glare. "You didn't stay up past midnight playing Exploding Snaps."

Yachi nodded fervently. "Saturdays are for sleeping in."

"Not when I found something so much _cooler_ than sleep!" Hinata said, bouncing in his chair.

"Nothing's cooler than sleep," Kageyama mumbled before stopping. "Well, 'cept for Quidditch of course."

"What did you find, Hinata," Yachi asked, sensing Hinata was near ready to explode.

Hinata beamed, leaning in closely and motioning for them to do the same. "You know the diary I found?"

Yachi nodded. "Did you find the owner?"

"No...well, I mean kind of but that's not important," Hinata paused dramatically. "It's a _special,_ magic diary, guys! It shows people's memories!"

Kageyama and Yachi both frowned, glancing at each other.

"Isn't that what all diaries do," Kageyama asked.

"No, I mean like it really _showed_ me memories," Hinata corrected hastily. "Like, it literally sucked me in to it and it was really weird and there was this boy and this man and…" Hinata shook his head. "Anyway, you've got to see it!"

Kageyama looked decidedly less impressed. "After breakfast."

"We can't then." Yachi reminded them. "We're meeting Lev and Kenma."

Hinata pouted. "But, see that's why you two should have gotten up early!"

Kageyama rolled his eyes.

"After lunch," Yachi suggested, putting a comforting hand on Hinata's arm. "Then we'll all go look at the diary. Okay?"

Hinata immediately brightened and Kageyama finally got to eat his breakfast in relative peace. Well, as peaceful of a breakfast as a breakfast could be with both Hinata and Kageyama in attendance.

ooooooo

This particular Saturday found Kuroo, Bokuto, Iwaizumi, Oikawa, and Suga at the Three Broomsticks enjoying the year's first Hogsmeade weekend.

Of course, this company also being what it was, it found them in the middle of "debating" the most likely candidates behind the previous week's petrification.

"I'm putting money on it being someone with a grudge," Iwaizumi put in, sipping at his Butterbeer. "Mori's kind of an ass. I'm sure there's someone."

"But that's booooring, Iwa-chan," moaned Oikawa. "You can't just say it's someone with a grudge. You gotta say who and why. That's how the game works."

Suga rolled his eyes. "Should we really be making a game out of one of our classmate's attack?"

Kuroo shrugged. "It's basically what everyone else is doing with the gossip. We're just honest enough to call it what it is."

"Wait!" Bokuto broke in, slamming his mug down on the table. "My super psychic divination senses are tingling."

"This should be good," Kuroo muttered.

"You sure that's not something for the Hospital Wing," Oikawa asked.

Bokuto stuck out a tongue, closing his eyes and trying to hum dramatically under his breath in a move that reminded Oikawa more of a coffee machine than anything.

"I got it," Bokuto announced. "It's obviously Professor Shimada."

"Okay, yeah, I gotta hear this," Iwaizumi said, leaning in. "Why is our esteemed Herbology professor attacking students?"

"So, he gets to grow Mandrakes, duh!" Bokuto replied happily. "Shimada loves rare plants. Mandrakes are rare. Petrifications need Mandrakes. Perfect Solution!"

Kuroo let out a quick laugh. "Well, definitely, more interesting than Iwaizumi's guess."

From beside him, Iwaizumi shoved his shoulder.

"No, the Butterbeer!" Kuroo yelped, adjusting his grip on the mug before licking off the bit that splashed on his hand.

"If it's any professor, then it's gotta be Defense," Oikawa said. "Stick with the evil megalomaniac trend."

Kuroo groaned. "But Mananda's too boring to be evil."

"Hey, now," Oikawa said, face scrunching up to be the very picture of concern. "Boring people can still be evil. You shouldn't give up on your dreams like that, Kuroo."

Kuroo snorted, turning to Suga. "What about you? Who's your guess? There are no wrong answers."

"Except for probably all of these," Iwaizumi muttered.

Suga hummed. "I suppose I'm going with Oikawa's guess."

"Ha," Oikawa crowed.

"I mean Mananda's the only thing that's really changed this year," Suga frowned. "Except for the first years, obviously."

"Oh ho," Kuroo said, eyebrows raised. "A gaggle of firsties petrifying scary old Mori-I like it! Good thinking, Suga!"

Bokuto nodded sagely. "Much better than someone with a grudge."

Iwaizumi glared. "I thought we were being practical."

"Your first mistake, really," Oikawa said with a shit eating grin.

Luckily for Oikawa's continued health and well being, Iwaizumi's response was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat right behind them.

The entire table looked up to see Mai Nametsu-a third year Ravenclaw-standing in front of the table with a shy smile.

"Sorry to interrupt," she said, eyes flicking around the table until they landed on Oikawa. "I just wondered if I could speak to Oikawa for a second."

Confused, Oikawa glanced around the table to see if anyone there had a clue what this was about. Kuroo was smirking-which was never a good sign-and Suga was shooting him a pointed look but at least Bokuto and Iwaizumi looked as lost as Oikawa felt.

"Sure," Oikawa finally answered, standing and giving the girl a smile that he hoped was charming. "Lead the way."

Nametsu let out a breath in slight relief and motioned for Oikawa to follow her out onto one of the many charming side alleys that lined Hogsmeade like leaves on a stem.

Once outside the Three Broomsticks, she turned back to Oikawa with a bashful look.

"So, I guess you probably already figured out what this is about," Nametsu started in what Oikawa thought was a decidedly unhelpful way.

He briefly considered pretending he actually _did_ know before concluding that option just had too many ways to go wrong.

"Actually, I'm still a bit unsure," he admitted. "Is this about class? Or…"

Oikawa trailed off because he honestly couldn't think of what else it could be.

"Oh," Nametsu said, surprised. "Sorry, I just assumed that you, um...but I guess we don't really know each other so…" She blushed, leaning forward with her brown hair falling around her face. "I'm not doing this very well, am I?"

Oikawa opened his mouth in a half-hearted reassurance but she continued.

"I like you," Nametsu announced suddenly. "I...I know you don't really know me so I'm not really expecting an answer right now or anything. But...but, I wondered if you would like to go out with me for the next Hogsmeade weekend?"

Oikawa was fairly sure that if he looked back on this later, he could probably have come up with a better response than, "...sorry, what?"

Nametsu's blush deepened. "Um, I like you? I've seen you around school and...I think you're really cool." She looked up and sighed. "Listen, don't feel pressure or anything. I thought it would be great if we could get to know each other a bit better and my friends told me I should try so…"

This was the moment that Oikawa's brain rebooted so he was at least able to come back with. "That's sounds great. Thank you for your confession."

He internally cringed at how generic that sounded.

"Really?" Nametsu said, eyes widening. "You'll think about it?"

"Of course," Oikawa replied, putting every ounce of mental strength he mustered into sounding charming instead of vaguely stunned. "I'm...ah, really flattered."

Nametsu smiled and, in a detached way, Oikawa realized she was quite pretty. Crap, this was probably why Kuroo was smirking.

"Thank you," Nametsu said, flushing one more time. "I'll, um, let you go back to your friends. You can just...find me later or something and we can talk more, okay?"

Oikawa nodded and thought he managed something like a warm smile before Nametsu waved and hurried off to a group of girls waiting across the street.

Still feeling slightly like he'd been hit unexpectedly by a rogue Bludger, Oikawa trudged his way inside.

It was probably abnormal that evil professors and petrifications had somehow become less surprising than being asked on a date.

ooooooo

In a small dark and virtually unknown part of the castle, Tanaka and Noya were taking advantage of the fact that both Daichi _and_ Ennoshita had decided to go with Asahi to Hogsmeade-leaving Noya and Tanaka completely unsupervised.

The three were sure to realize their mistake sometime soon, but until then the two most troublemaking Gryffindors were going to take full advantage to root around in absolutely every secret corridor they knew about and add it to the map.

They were currently, if Noya's navigation was to be believed, behind the walls somewhere between the Runes tower and the dungeons.

"Noya, Noya, come look at this! I think I found a ghoul!" Tanaka called, moving his wand to light one of the many nooks and crannies that lined the passageway.

"Awesome!" Noya rushed over, craning his neck around Tanaka and indeed saw a large grey skinned lump looking at them with bulging yellow eyes. "Aww, it's so cute!"

The ghoul-who was not what any other sane wizard would define as "cute"-huffed once before laying its head down and going back to his nap.

Careful not to wake the newly discovered inhabitant, Noya leaned over and placed another interlocking charm over the wall. On the map in Tanaka's hands spread, four new black lines spread out and suddenly a tag reading "Rune Tower Ghoul" appeared beside Tanaka and Noya's own.

"I think that's everything in this passage," Noya decided."That tunnel over there should put us back out by the Potion's classroom."

"Hey, you think we can convince Tsukishima to put these charms over in Slytherin's common room," Tanaka asked.

"Sure," Noya said with a shrug. "We'll just get Yamaguchi to ask him."

"Genius," Tanaka high fived him before looking down at the map. "Now, we just need a Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff."

Noya was just about to offer another suggestion when he stopped, a low sound prickling at the edge of his hearing.

He paused in the hallway, trying to figure out where it was coming from

"Noya?"

"One sec, I thought I heard something," Noya frowned.

He turned his head, slowly leaning closer to the wall. The sound was _definitely_ there.

"That's just a wall, bro," Tanaka teased. "You sure it wasn't the ghoul?"

Noya shook his head. "No, it sounds like…"

Noya trailed off, gesturing for Tanaka to be quiet.

Placing his ear against the wall, Noya listened closely to the thinnest whisper of rustling. He probably wouldn't have noticed it at all except the way the sound echoed around the empty room, still barely audible.

Under his hand, Noya could feel just the slightest vibrations.

"Noya?"

"Just one more second," Noya said, his face right against the cold stone. Like this, he could feel the hum tingling against his cheek

It was weird...it was like...he could swear there was something _moving_...just on the other side of the wall, maybe a hands breadth of stone wall between there and the secret passageway.

The sound seemed to be getting louder, echoing in Noya's ear.

Noya leaned in closer, flattening his body to the wall.

If he could only figure out what…

"Noya!"

"Hmm, yeah," Noya said, turning back at Tanaka's insistence. "Sorry, I thought something was moving."

"Well, yeah, man," Tanaka rolled his eyes. "That's what I was trying to tell you. That's the inner wall, behind those are the pipes."

"Oh, duh," Noya laughed, leaning back from the wall. Yeah, of course, running water would make it sound like something was moving...and would account for the vibrations. "Thanks, bro."

Tanaka shrugged. "No problem. Now, let's go. I bet if we hit the passageway to Honeydukes we can still catch up with them at Hog's Head."

"Cool!" Noya grinned, shaking off the last of the weird feeling and following his best friend back out to the well lit Hogwarts halls.

 _See, Daichi!_ Noya knew making the map wouldn't be dangerous.

ooooooo

"Hinata," Lev asked, slumping into his chair. "Why are we in the library on a _Saturday_?"

Hinata shrugged. "Yachi thought it would be more quiet."

"Quiet, it's deserted! All the upper years are in Hogsmeade." Lev pouted. "I can't believe we have to wait another year to go."

As the only third year of the group, Kenma just hummed. "Actually, I prefer the library to Hogsmeade."

Lev shook his head in wonder. "Ravenclaws, I'll never understand it."

"Alright, " Kageyama finally broke in. "Tell us, what about this diary is so important?"

Like he was just waiting for the word Hinata exploded into motion-ripping the book out from his bag and laying it on the table with a solid thunk.

The rest of the table looked at it with various unimpressed expression.

"So...um, what exactly did you say it did," Yachi asked eventually.

"Open it!" Hinata said, sliding the book open.

Frowning, Yachi picked it up. "What page?"

"Any of them, I guess," Hinata answered. "I picked the first page when I did it."

With some hesitation, Yachi followed Hinata's orders and opened the book.

She frowned. "There's only a date?...An _old_ date."

"See! That's what I thought, too!" Hinata cried. "But read the date out!"

The rest of the table crowded around as Yachi recited in a clear voice. "August 14, 1937."

"Oh...that's interesting," Yachi commented as words started to appear on the page.

"Nah, still boring," Lev shook his head. "It's just some stupid security device."

"No, you gotta read the paragraph, too" Hinata said, coming around to stand beside him. "Then, you'll see. I promise."

Nodding, Yachi read the small section aloud to the group before suddenly dropping the book with a surprised yelp.

"Did you feel it," Hinata questioned intently at the same time as Kageyama's "what happened?"

"It...It pushed me," Yachi frowned, thinking through her words. "It was the weirdest thing. It's like I was reading one second and then I felt this _shove_ and I dropped the book."

"What?" Hinata brow furrowed in confusion. "Really? That's so...That...that definitely didn't happen when I used it?"

"I want to try," Lev announced, picking up the book and looking down at the words.

A few moments passed before…

"Ow," Lev whined, looking down at his hand as the book tumbled back to the table. "You're right! It like...pushed my mind or something."

He cocked his head and turned to Hinata. "Is this some kind of pranking book? Like from Zonko's?"

"No! I swear! For me, it wasn't like that at all," Hinata paused, thinking back. "Well, I guess maybe at first, there was like this weird pressure but then I just kind of...pushed back, I guess? With magic."

Kageyama picked up the book. "You just 'pushed back'?"

"Yeah," Hinata nodded.

Kageyama shrugged, looking down and reading the book.

After a few moments, Kageyama's shoulder's jerked but his hands still stayed in a white knuckled grip around the book's edges.

The group watched as a bead of sweat ran down Kageyama's forehead.

Finally, Kageyama swore, dropping the book and shaking out his hands.

"Yeah, 'pushing back' _definitely_ didn't work," Kageyama grumbled, a bit out of breath. "Maybe it's broken."

Frowning, Hinata picked up the now slightly beaten up book and opened it back to the first page.

"I swear," Hinata said, looking down. "All I did was say the date, then the writing appeared so I read that until the last line," Hinata ran a line across the text, "And then it just pulled me in like-"

Hinata cut off as he felt that same familiar swooping in his stomach and the world around him blurred, reforming in the same office.

"See like that," Hinata cried before looking around and seeing none of his friends

Hinata blinked, looking back to the scene.

"Hisashi, sit down," the man said, voice the exact same tone as before.

"Of course, Father. You wished to see me?"

"Guys," Hinata called. "Are you seeing this? Because I kind of don't want to watch this again for nothing."

As soon as Hinata finished, a hand suddenly materialized right in front of his face-the office distorting and rippling around it.

Hinata barely had time to blink before the hand reached out and slapped him hard across the face.

"OW!" Hinata yelped, blinking once as the office drifted away like fog in the wind. Slowly, the hand remained until finally an arm and then an entire Yachi was revealed. By the next blink, Hinata was back in the library, holding the diary and being stared at by three worried faces.

"Why did you slap me," Hinata asked, rubbing his cheek.

"Sorry," Yachi winced. "I had to."

Lev nodded, leaning over and waving a hand in front of Hinata's face.

"Hinata, you totally blanked out in the middle of the sentence," Lev told him. "It was super creepy."

Hinata frowned, waving away Lev's hand. "So, you guys didn't see the office or anything?"

Kageyama and Yachi exchanged worried looks. Hinata always hated it when they did that because it never meant anything good.

"For us, it just looked like you were standing in the library," Yachi said, biting at her lip.

Hinata opened his mouth before closing it with an audible snap,

"Why would it work for me and not for you guys, though?" he asked.

"I think I know."

The group jumped, looking to the table where Kenma sat, quietly observed them with a contemplative expression.

"It's a pensieve diary," Kenma said in his usual even voice.

"Yeah, that's what the diary said, but what _is_ that?" Hinata asked. He glanced around at the others to see if this was one of those wizarding world things he didn't know; but, the others seemed just as confused.

Kenma let out a small sigh and shifted under the weight of everyone's gaze. "They're a cross between a diary and a pensieve: they hold the memories to be viewed later, usually activated by some kind of writing." His brow crinkled in some kind of annoyance. "They're rare and fairly old fashioned. Kuroo's father has one, but other than that I've never heard of one."

"Is it safe," Yachi asked.

Kenma's expression cleared. "As safe as any diary I suppose. Just...a touch more _interactive_."

"Why does it just work for Hinata," Kageyama said, jerking a thumb in the redhead's direction.

"Maybe it just likes me more," Hinata suggested, coming back to sit at the table next to Kenma.

"I'm not really sure," Kenma admitted. "Most pensive diaries usually have some kind of security charm on it to prevent unwanted viewers." He picked up the diary and idly flipped through the pages. "This one's probably just old enough that Hinata's magic was able to push through and break it."

"So...if we all just pushed hard enough, you think it would work for any of us," Lev asked eagerly.

Kenma frowned slightly. "Maybe, but I think it's more that…"

Lev grinned and slapped a hand on the table. "I'm going to try again! And push really hard and break it this time!"

He grabbed the book off the table and stared reading.

"I don't think…" Kenma started.

He was cut off by the sound of Lev's loud "OW, IT SHOCKED ME!"

Kenma gave him a flat look. "As I was saying, it could be Hinata happened to 'push' at the right spot or unwittingly found some kind of hole in the defense. I don't think it would be as easy to find it again."

"Yeah, um…" Lev said, cradling his hand while Yachi carefully examined it. "I think I'm just going to leave looking at the diary to you. Okay, Hinata?"

Hinata winced, picking up the book. "Sorry, it didn't work for you guys." He frowned. "And it was really cool, too..."

"It's fine," Yachi said with a reassuring smile. "It was, um, still interesting to learn about pensieve diaries and all."

"Yeah," Lev agreed, slapping a hand on Hinata's back "And now we still have time to go to the kitchens to see if the elves will give us extra dessert,"

Hinata managed a smile. "Yeah, that does sound good."

"Food makes everything better," Lev nodded sagely. "Come on, the kitchen's pretty close to here anyway."

"You know how to get to the kitchens," Kageyama asked, following the taller boy as he motioned them out to the hall.

"Yep!" Lev said proudly. "I saw two of the Slytherin fourth years get in one time and they told me if I gave them two galleons, I could get extra food from the house elves."

"Wouldn't the house elves have given you extras anyway?" Yachi asked. "I mean...they're house elves. They love helping."

"Oh," Lev paused, thinking. "Darn, you're right. You think I could still get those galleons back from Matsukawa and Hanamaki?"

"No," Kenma and Kageyama replied in unison.

"Ah well," Lev shrugged, happily bounding forward and turning a corner.

Hinata followed the group at, for once, a more sedate pace-looking down at the diary in his hands. It seemed a lot less fun if the others couldn't see the memories, too. He wondered if...maybe if he kept using it, he'd be able to figure out the hole in the defenses or whatever Kenma was talking about. Then, everyone could use it.

He turned the corner and immediately ran straight into Kageyama's back.

"Ow, guys, why'd you stop?" Hinata complained, seeing all of his friends stopped in the middle of the hall

At the sound of his voice, Yachi jerked her head back and looked at him with wide eyes.

"What's wrong," Hinata asked, pushing forward to see what they were staring at.

Hinata looked up and for the fifth time that night, the diary dropped to the floor.

There in red paint on the wall was the message:

 _Slytherin's Monster Has Been Unleashed_

 _Mudbloods Beware_

ooooooo

A/N: A couple of notes this time:

1.) Please don't hate Nametsu-she's not important enough to the story to hate and I think everyone knows that she's not going to be the one Oikawa ends up with in the end of the series. So, sorry, but rest assured that if any of the characters are dating someone that's not one of their main pairings, then it will be brief and not the main focus.

2.) The diary is 100% not a horcrux. I promise. I hate horcruxes. However, as is probably obvious, the diary will still serve an important part to the story.

Okay, that's it! As always, thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed! In the next chapter, Quidditch!

Next Chapter: Gains and Losses


	7. Gains and Losses

"We'll be cheering for you," Yamaguchi enthused for possibly the fifth time that morning. "Um, we'll try to get seats in the first row, too!"

Watching Noya and Tanaka frantically rush around the room trying to find the last of their Quidditch gear, Daichi reached over and patted Yamaguchi on the back. "Thanks, Yamaguchi. But, it looks like we won't _have_ a game unless these two hurry up so we can get to the field."

Tanaka groaned. "Don't say it like that! I swear I put my helmet here somewhere."

Ennoshita rolled his eyes and pointed to said helmet, currently laying in the middle of Tanaka's bed.

Tanaka grinned, muttering a quick, "Thanks, Ennoshita."

"You might have trouble getting seats," Ennoshita commented to Yamaguchi. "I think _everyone's_ going to be at the game today."

Tsukishima huffed. "Well, no one wants to be in the castle with a possible monster on the loose."

Asahi jerked at the word "monster", glancing around panicked.

"Pffffft, please," came Noya's voice from somewhere under his bed. "As if there would be some kind of awesome creature in the castle that I didn't already find first."

Yamaguchi cocked his head. "I'm not really sure that's reassuring."

"Well," Ennoshita said. "According to the legend, Slytherin's monster is controlled by his Heir. Maybe Noya's just not dark enough to find it."

Noya shot his head up, looking wounded.

"He's right, bro," Tanaka commented, finally finding the last of his gear. "If it's looking for someone dark and evil and creepy, then I think Tsukishima's the only one with a real shot here."

"Thank you," Tsukishima said, looking faintly pleased with that assessment.

"It's just a legend," Daichi reassured. "Slytherin's line died out centuries ago. There's no Heir of Slytherin and there's definitely no mysterious monster out attacking students."

"But w-what if the Slytherin line _didn't_ die off," Asahi asked. "What if they were just biding the time and now, they're going to attack all the muggleborn students."

Across the room, Ennoshita frowned. "Asahi, why are you so worried? You're pureblood. "

"I can be worried about more than just me _,_ " Asahi protested before fiddling with his sleeves sheepishly. "I'm pretty sure I can worry about _everything_ actually."

With a crow of triumph at finding his last glove, Noya walked over and slapped a hand to Asahi's back. "Don't worry, Asahi! Even if there is a cool, awesome-"

"Terrifying," Asahi shuddered.

"Creature hiding in Hogwarts," Noya finished. "I promise you that I'll find it and protect you."

"Hmm," Yamaguchi said, following the rest to the door. "No, I think I've decided. That's _definitely_ not reassuring."

ooooooo

" _A bloody monster loose in the castle-"_

" _-Poor Mori, attacked for being muggleborn-"_

" _You think there really is an Heir?"_

" _-definitely would watch out if I was a muggleborn."_

Suga tensed, walking through the crowd to the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff Quidditch game.

During the week since the message had been found, Hogwarts had been in an uproar about the mysterious Slytherin monster. It wasn't long before a few students dug out the old folklore books from Hogwarts library.

According to legend, Slytherin's founder-enraged at the other founders for letting muggleborns attend Hogwarts-split off from the others and built his own secret chamber somewhere in the school. The Chamber would be guarded by a terrible monster that only the heirs of Slytherin himself would be able to control. Slytherin vowed that his Heir would one day use the monster to purge the school of all unworthy to study magic.

Suga, the Heir of Slytherin, really wasn't that interested in judging his fellow students "unworthy" and he definitely didn't know about any monster. But, it wasn't as if he could actually tell anyone that.

As it was, Suga had drifted around the school, feeling an odd mix of guilt, fear, and deep relief that no one knew his heritage. After all, even if Suga _wasn't_ behind Mori's attack, it would be hard to get anyone else to believe that if they knew he was the Heir.

Suga briefly wondered if he should feel bad for not telling his friends. It wasn't...it _wasn't_ that he didn't trust them exactly. It was just...well, hadn't they already forgiven enough concerning Suga's family? There had to be a limit somewhere on how much they could take before they decided that Suga had to be dark, too. And Suga desperately didn't want to reach that limit. He didn't want to lose the best friends he'd ever made.

Hopefully...hopefully, this would all just die down soon and Suga could go on without feeling an odd, displaced sense of guilt.

ooooooo

"Iwa-chan! Iwa-chan! Wait up," a voice called and a second later, Iwaizumi had Oikawa hanging off his shoulders like a particularly determined leach.

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. "We can't wait. If we wait any longer, we're not going to be able to get seats."

"It'll just take a minute," Oikawa said, dragging him off into an empty classroom.

Iwaizumi grumbled but resigned himself to being pulled.

Once in the classroom, Oikawa stopped, chewing on his lip in with an expression that Iwaizumi hadn't seen in _years._

Oikawa looked nervous-shy even.

That alone set small alarm bells ringing. "What's up?"

Oikawa eyes flickered up and he shuffled awkwardly but still didn't quite say anything.

Iwaizumi glared. "Stupidkawa, I'm serious. If we don't hurry, the game's going to be packed. What do you want?"

"Umm," Oikawa said, still not looking up. "You remember last weekend? When we were at the Three Broomsticks and, ah, that girl Nametsu came up to talk to me?"  
"Yeah," Iwaizumi said, remembering "And you said it was about class?"

"Right," Oikawa laughed nervously. "It wasn't...it wasn't about class."

Iwaizumi sighed, feeling an oncoming Oikawa-induced headache. "Then, what was it about?"

Oikawa muttered something to the ground.

"What was that?"

"I said," Oikawa took a breath, finally looking at Iwaizumi. "I said she asked me out on a date."

"Oh." Iwaizumi frowned because that wasn't _at all_ what he had expected. If anything, he was more confused because… "Why are you treating this like a bad thing? You said yes, right?"

Because from everything he knew about Oikawa to date, he'd expect the guy to be practically skipping down the halls and bragging about it to everyone he came across.

Instead, Oikawa seemed to be watching his face carefully. "She told me to think about it so I haven't given her an answer yet. You think I should do it?"

Iwaizumi huffed, leaning over to punch Oikawa's shoulder. "Yeah, you should do it. There's only a limited number of people that are going to put up with your crappy personality, so you gotta take the chance when you can."

Oikawa didn't laugh like expected and Iwaizumi frowned, taking a second to look closer at his friend. "I mean is there a reason why you wouldn't?"

Oikawa smiled suddenly, one of the bright ones that screamed _fake, fake, fake._ "Oh, silly Iwa-chan, I was just worried that you'd think I was leaving you behind." He tilted his head with a frown. "You know with that face, it'll be awhile before any girl takes notice."

"Ha, ha," Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, vaguely relieved because that at least sounded like a typical Oikawa response. "Yeah, yeah, you're a regular Casanova for someone who still hasn't been on one date."

Oikawa scrunched up his nose. "Iwa-chan, that reference is so _old._ "

Iwaizumi made to punch his arm again but Oikawa dodged it and grabbed on, pulling Iwaizumi back to the classroom door.

"Come on, Iwa-chan-n-n," Oikawa singsonged. "If we don't hurry, we're never going to get a seat at the game!"

Iwaizumi glared. "Ugh, you're such a brat."

 _Why was I even worried about this idiot?_

ooooooo

 _This was not good,_ Hinata thought, breathing heavily as he assessed the field.

The game had been going on for roughly two hours and both teams were holding steadily with a tied score of 70-70. And while a tied score wasn't _terrible_ by any means, it meant that the game would rely mainly on the Seekers and Gryffindor's Seeker Nishinoya Yu was widely acknowledged as the best in the school.

Hufflepuff needed to get ahead and put less pressure on Mad Dog, their own Seeker.

But nothing was working. Or well, nothing was working well enough to get them ahead. During a short timeout, Bokuto had tried to reassure the team that they were all working with new tactics, not game tested yet, to just try and focus on honing those new tactics and he'd focus on stopping Gryffindor from scoring.

And to be fair, Bokuto was doing an amazing job as Keeper, it just wasn't enough to fully keep Gryffindor from scoring while the rest of Hufflepuff fumbled through their moves.

Now, it looked like every time Gryffindor scored, Hufflepuff's captain was looking more and more agitated-in danger of going into what Akaashi called his Depressed Mode.

All in all, Hufflepuff needed to start scoring and they needed to start soon. Which meant, with Futakuchi, Aone, and Koki working on their new wall defense, it was pretty much up to Kageyama and Hinata. The problem was that Kageyama's new throw, while _much_ better when it worked, was still only working about half the time. And Hinata still hadn't had a chance to try off the new feint he'd been working on.

Hinata winced as he dodged around Gryffindor Beater Sota Yusho, barely catching Kageyama's Quaffle in time.

Bringing it in to his chest, Hinata darted around Ryunosuke Tanaka-Gryffindor's second Beater-and made along throw to the right hoop, the Quaffle falling in before Gryffindor's Keeper could quite make it.

Daichi flew down to retrieve the Quaffle and Hinata took a second to breathe.

The second didn't last long before Daichi was throwing the Quaffle over to Michimiya, Gryffindor's Chaser, and Hinata had to fly up and try to intercept it. He couldn't and Michimiya made it to half field before one of Aone's Bludgers knocked the Quaffle out of her hands.

Kageyama intercepted and Hinata started dodging around the Beaters. He made it through and reached for the Quaffle but the Quaffle _wasn't there yet._

There was that _pause_ again….a pause that Hinata wasn't used to and the same pause that had been affected them all game.

A moment later, Hinata saw the Quaffle and snatched it out of the air but it was too late-Gryffindor's Beaters closing him in and limiting his throw to the hoops. Daichi easily caught it and redirected it to another Gryffindor Chasers-one of the Hayaidesu twins this time.

With all three Gryffindor Chasers free, they dodged through the wall defense-scoring another goal and bringing the game back to a tie.

Hinata bit his lip, thinking. He needed...he needed to talk to Kageyama.

He made a motion to Bokuto and the captain, albeit looking a bit confused, called for their second timeout.

"What's up," Bokuto asked as the team landed on the field.

"I need to talk to Kageyama real quick," Hinata told him. "Thanks for calling a timeout for me."

Bokuto grinned, slapping his back. "No problem! Just see if you can get those catches worked out and let's show those lions who's boss!"

Hinata gave him two thumbs up and pulled Kageyama off to the side.

Kageyama blinked at him, brows furrowing. "What's wrong...is it-is it my tosses?"

"No," Hinata denied immediately. "Well, I mean kind of, but not really. I wanted to ask you what's wrong, you're pausing."

Kageyama grimaced. "I don't want the new tempo to get intercepted."

Hinata paused, running this through his mental Kageyama word filter.

"You're…," Hinata started. "You're pausing so I can make it through the Beaters first?"

Kageyama nodded.

Hinata glared, punching Kageyama in the shoulder.

"Oi!" Kageyama yelled. "Dummy, what was that for?"

"Stop underestimating me," Hinata accused. "I can make it through the Beaters fine!"

"I know," Kageyama muttered, glaring back. "That's not the point! You dodge the Beaters. I throw it to where you can get around."

Hinata huffed. "It's _both_ our jobs."

He reached up and flicked Kageyama behind the ear, ignoring his "Ow!"

"Stop thinking so much," Hinata ordered, pointing up at the other Chaser. "It's like how we're letting Aone, Futakuchi, and Koki deal with defense. Stop worrying about whether I'm going to dodge the Beaters and just give me your best toss!"

Professor Oiwake blew his whistle, signaling the end of time out.

Hinata dragged Kageyama back to middle-field. "We're partners, Dummy. Leave some stuff to me."

That was all they had time for before the whistle blew again and they took to the sky in opposite directions. By the Hufflepuff goals, Bokuto threw the Quaffle into play and Koki caught it, redirecting it to Kageyama.

Hinata was only vaguely aware of Kageyama eluding Gryffindor's Chasers. Instead, just like he had told Kageyama, Hinata focused on dodging the Beaters and counted on Kageyama to do the rest.

He pulled up from a dive, roughly five meters away from the hoops. He held up his hands and the Quaffle was _there_ -a bit of an awkward throw and maybe a slight hesitation but _there_.

Hinata tamped down on the the relief, pivoting and throwing towards the left hoop before Daichi could reach it.

The announcer called out Hufflepuff's score and Hinata threw a grin back at Kageyama, receiving a small lip quirk in return.

As if the last drop needed to burst a dam, the tide of the the game changed. Daichi threw the Quaffle back into play to Michimiya, but she was quickly blocked in by a renewed wall defense by Koki and the Hufflepuff Beaters.

Koki intercepted for Kageyama, who pulled off another quick throw to Hinata.

Feeling the rush of pure excitement that he always associated with Quidditch, Hinata pulled a sharp turn, catching the Quaffle and getting another score for Hufflepuff. When Daichi threw it back into play, Kageyama darted in between to snatch it back and throw for another goal before the Keeper could react.

The flow of the game seemed to change with Hufflepuff quickly gaining confidence while Gryffindor began struggling to react. Aone, Futakuchi, and Koki's wall defense seemed to have finally come together and when Gryffindor Chaser Niko Haiyadesu tried to get through, Futakuchi got her with a Bludger and brought the Quaffle back to Kageyama.

With each one of Kageyama's tosses, Hinata could feel the pauses getting shorter and shorter and each time, Hinata sent him a pleased smile after scoring.

After the fifth straight goal for Hufflepuff, the other Haiyadesu twin finally managed to get through the wall defense and redirect to Michimiya to score. But even then, Hufflepuff was able to reset quickly-Bokuto retrieving, Koki receiving and passing to Kageyama, and Hinata dodging the Beaters and scoring another goal.

The score had Hufflepuff ahead 140 to Gryffindor's 90.

Daichi blocked Hinata's next attempt at a goal, throwing back to one of the twins. On her way back down the field, the wall defense stood strong again, stopping her advance.

Swearing, she threw blindly to her sister. The second Haiyadesu twin caught the Quaffle awkwardly and attempted an even more awkward throw to score that was quickly stopped by Bokuto.

A wild cheer sounded from the Hufflepuff stands-almost cutting off the announcer's coverage.

Grinning, Bokuto threw the Quaffle to Koki, who was quickly surrounded by all three Gryffindor Chasers, forcing him to throw to Futakuchi of all people. Diving a hand forward, the Hufflepuff Beater fumbled slightly, somehow managing to catch the Quaffle and hold on to his bat.

Quickly, Futakuchi redirected to Kageyama in more of a timed drop than any kind of throw. Kageyama caught it and didn't even glance at Hinata before throwing it over his shoulder.

"HUFFLEPUFF'S KAGEYAMA PULLS OFF A BLIND REVERSE PASS!"

Hinata-luckily already clear of the Gryffindor Beaters-dove to catch it and pulled up, hitting the Quaffle sharply with his broom handle to to speed it towards the hoop before Daichi.

Hufflepuff pulled ahead by sixty.

The Gryffindor Chasers were still on Hufflepuff's side of the field, rushing back. Daichi hesitated, waiting for them to get closer.

A sharp whistle echoed across the field as Professor Oiwake hurried him along..

Grimacing, Daichi threw long and Hinata pulled up sharply in almost a ninety degree angle to intercept.

As Hinata turned back to the Gryffindor goals, it was like his entire world narrowed into focus, watching in almost slow motion as Daichi moved.

It was clear the Keeper suspected the interception. Now, he was preparing himself for Hinata's counter, already positioning himself to be in the best place to throw it back to the Gryffindor Chasers.

Hinata took a breath and, In a hair breadth of a second, changed the hold on the Quaffle ever so slightly-pushing forward with the tips of his fingers as he threw.

The Quaffle flew across the field, spinning through the air.

Daichi reached for it, hand already moving right in the middle of the Quaffle trajectory.

The Quaffle spun towards the goal and then-barely a handful of centimeters away-the spin gave through and altered the course just slightly.

The Quaffle hit off the tips of Daichi's fingers, and then...slowly...like rain off an umbrella...bounced off and into the goal.

The air stood still.

Then, all at once like the boom of a cannon, the crowd roared-coming to their.

"HUFFLEPUFF CHASER HINATA PULLS OFF WHAT LOOKED TO BE AN INTENTIONAL FEINT TO BRING HUFFLEPUFF UP 160 TO 90! WHAT A PLAY AND-OH!"

And then, Hinata heard the worst sound in the entire game-two blows of Professor Oiwake's whistle.

All players stopped as they looked to the quickly accelerating red and gold blur roughly twenty meters above.

"AND AFTER A SERIES OF INCREDIBLE PLAYS BY HUFFLEPUFF, GRYFFINDOR SEEKER NISHINOYA PULLS A LAST MINUTE SAVE, CATCHING THE SNITCH AND BRINGING THE FINAL SCORE TO 240-160 GRYFFINDOR!"

The stands were still cheering and the Gryffindor team all flocked to the ground to swarm their Seeker, gold Snitch still held high in his hand.

In a much more subdued fashion, the Hufflepuff team also landed on the field right outside of their changing room. Completely silent, the team made their way in and saw that Akaashi and Yachi were already waiting for them inside.

Hinata sat down heavily next to Kageyama and the entire team looked up to their Captain.

Bokuto sighed, shoulders drooping slightly as he took in the team. "Well, guys, I'm not going to lie. That ending really sucked Hippogriff balls."

Futakuchi let out a snort and Bokuto awkwardly cleared his throat. "But, um, I guess the rest of it was sorta awesome, too?...I mean like yeah, obviously, not the whole losing part cause that part always sucks but before that…." Bokuto threw a vaguely helpless look at Akaashi, who gave him an encouraging nod. "Before that, everyone was really, _really_ doing amazing so let's focus on that instead of just being upset about the loss."

He looked towards the Beaters and Koki. "Guys, great job finally getting that wall defense going! We're going to kick some Slytherin ass next game!"

Aone nodded firmly and Futakuchi took on a vaguely pleased look.  
"And Mad Dog," Bokuto said, turning to the Hufflepuff Seeker who glared up. "That dive you did it the first half was freaking unbelievable, you almost caught the Snitch like twenty times so don't you dare beat yourself up to much, okay?"

Bokuto's eyes landed on Kageyama and Hinata. "And, guys! _Guys,_ those last few scores were bloody incredible! Kageyama, I didn't even know you could pull off a Reverse Pass and your tempo attacks are almost there! That's insane for a second year! And Hinata, you did a feint!" By now, Bokuto was bouncing around the locker room, looking almost like he'd forgotten the recent loss. "Oh my gosh, did you see Daichi's face?! Did you hear the crowd!? That was amazing! I can't wait to shove that in Kuroo's stupid face and-"

"Bokuto," Akaashi interrupted calmly.

"Right," Bokuto said, turning to the team. "I guess, the point is that losing freaking sucks and I hope we never have to do it again….but, um, that doesn't mean we should throw the cauldron out with the potion or however that saying goes. We did a lot of super cool awesome stuff that we need to keep working on. Also, we got really close in points so we still have a really good chance of playing in the House Cup! So….um, be it's alright to be sad about losing and everything but let's not make being sad the only thing, okay?"

The team all made vaguely affirmative gestures that, even if they weren't exactly cheery, at least looked significantly less depressed than before.

"Alright, everyone in," Bokuto called, putting a hand in the circle. "Akaashi! Yachi! You, too! On three." The team gradually gathered around. "One, two, three!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Bokuto grinned. "Now, let's get changed and go talk strategy. I still got a half full case of Butterbeer in my dorm."

The team now looked determinedly more cheered, hurry to start pulling off gear and changing.

Standing awkwardly in the corner and blushing furiously, Yachi slowly inched to the door. "...I'm just going to step out for a bit."

ooooooo

A/N: Sorry, it's a day late. Real life is hectic for the next week and last night, I got too tired to trust my editing. Anyway, thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed!

Next Chapter: A Learning Experience


	8. A Learning Experience

Daichi had a plan.

Admittedly, his first plan to ask Suga out hadn't gone that well. But, he had come to realize that this was probably more due to not being thorough _enough_ in his planning….well, okay, that plus a poisonous truth serum plant. Daichi avoided thinking about that disastrous and highly embarrassing trip to the Hospital Wing. He already didn't think he'd ever be able to look Professor Nekomata in the eye again.

 _Anyway,_ the point was that now Daichi had a new and better plan-one that was based on careful observation and forethought.

Step 1: Find a chance to talk to Suga alone.

Which was actually much harder than anticipated since Suga's friend group was apparently one of those never-leave-a-man-behind groups, rarely seen alone. In fact, the literal _only_ time Suga seemed to be alone was after dinner on certain weekdays when the others went off early.

Today was one of those days, which meant Daichi was patiently waiting for Suga to finish his dinner and trying not to feel like some kind of stalker.

He also had the rare experience of being the last Gryffindor at the table, largely on account of Step 2.

Step 2: Get rid of Daichi's _own_ friends.

It wasn't that he didn't love them. Really, he wouldn't trade them for anything-even if, by now, he was fairly certain he'd end up bailing Noya and Tanaka out of jail at some point. He just really saw absolutely no possible outcome where that particular group of Gryffindors (and one Slytherin) knowing about his crush would end up a good thing.

Which brought him to Step 2, basically just boiling down to relying on Asahi. After careful convincing and several breaks for Asahi to stop laughing, the "gentle" giant had finally agreed to get the rest in the dorm early and distract them while Daichi pulled off the rest of his plan.

So, um….the next step.

Step 3: Actually talking to Suga.

Daichi drew a breath and reminded himself that he'd been Herbology partners with Suga for _three years_. He talked to him several times a week. There was absolutely no reason this should make him break into a cold sweat.

Daichi stopped himself from turning back three different times before making it to the Slytherin table.

 _He could do this!_

Suga looked up from the table, seeing Daichi and face brightening into a wide smile. "Daichi."

 _Abort!_ _Abort! There was no way he could do this!_

Daichi pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and drew up his Gryffindor courage. "H-Hey, Suga. I was, er, wondering if you had a second to talk….In private! To talk in private."

Suga brow furrowed in confusion. It was adorable. Suga was adorable. Oh, wow, Daichi was so out of his depth.

"Of course," Suga agreed. "Is anything wrong?"

Daichi laughed nervously. "What? Wrong? Noooo, of course, nothing's wrong. It's just something...something I don't want to talk about in the Great Hall...with, um, people."

 _Smooth,_ teased a voice that sounded suspiciously like Tsukishima.

Suga nodded, anyway, pulling up his bag and following Daichi out the hall.

"I'm afraid I don't really have long to talk," Suga apologized once Daichi had stopped them in a suitably private section of the hall. "I'm meeting with Hinata in a bit for tutoring."

 _Tutoring!_ Tutoring fell great into Step 4: Bring up shared activity

Daichi could ask Suga to study with him...or tell him he needed help with a class or something.

The only problem was Daichi was actually a pretty decent student so he didn't really have a subject that he particularly needed help with-he briefly wondered what was his life when succeeding in class was actually a problem.

He could lie about his grades but lying didn't really seem like a good way to start a relationship-not to mention, Suga was in all of his classes except-

"Healing," Daichi blurted. "I need help with healing. You're in that class, right?"

Suga frowned. "Yes, I didn't know you were taking it."

Daichi wasn't, but Asahi was and he had heard his roommate talk about it enough to have at least a vague interest in learning more-especially, if Suga would be the one teaching him.

"Oh, I'm not in it," Daichi answered after he realized he'd probably been staring for a bit. "That's why I need help."

Suga tilted his head, confused before his face suddenly cleared. "Oh…. _Oh,_ I see. Are you sure you don't want to talk to Professor Nekomata? He's much more skilled than me."

Daichi shook his head urgently. "No, no, it's definitely gotta be you….because, um, Nekomata scares me?" No, wait, that sounded weird. "I mean I just think it would be better from someone I'm already comfortable with."

Suga's face melted into a soft, warm smile and Daichi felt his heart literally flutter. "You really feel that comfortable with me?"

Daichi grinned. "Of course, I do. You're amazing!"

Suga blushed and...oh Merlin, Daichi's plan was actually working!

"I'm flattered," Suga said, reaching up and patting Daichi on the shoulder. "And I can see why you wanted to talk about this in private." Suga bit his lip, blushing a bit more. "I can't promise you I'll know how to treat whatever problem you need healing but I promise I'll do everything I can. Thank you for feeling comfortable about asking me; a lot of students are really embarrassed to talk about medical problems."

 _Wait...wait, no, medical problems...he had meant….but he had_ said _...oh….oh, Asahi was going to laugh at him forever._

Daichi was still staring in horror when Suga frowned. "But, you have to promise me that if I don't know how to help, you'll definitely go to Professor Nekomata. Alright?"

Daichi's brain sputtered and died, the proceeding death throes apparently coming off as something like a nod.

"Good," Suga smiled again, the sweet shy one this time. "Sorry, but I really have to go now to tutor Hinata. Talk more later?"

"...Sure," Daichi managed and with one last cheery wave, he watched the kindest, most beautiful student in the entire school walk away down the hall. The kindest, most beautiful student, who was now under the impression that Daichi had some kind of medical problem too embarrassing to talk to a professor about.

Daichi leaned over and lightly banged his head against the wall, wondering if a mild concussion counted as an embarrassing medical problem.

So much for his plan.

ooooooo

"Suga!" Hinata called happily the moment Suga came through the door. "I can't believe I actually beat you here for once."

Suga smiled, ruffling Hinata's hair. "Sorry, I'm late."

"It's fine," Hinata waved him off. "I've been late like a bajillion times this year and it's not even November."

"I'm sure it's not a bajillion," Suga said. "Maybe only a thousand or so."

"Yachi told me I should get a Remembrall so it'll remind me when I'm running late. But, then I think I'd just get distracted by the Remembrall, I'd be even later."

"Well, as long as you're not late to Potions," Suga reassured, gesturing for Hinata to get his potion's set while Suga readied the cauldron.

Hinata shuddered. "Never! If I was late for Potions, I'm pretty sure Irihata would use me for ingredients."

"But think about how many different potions you could help," Suga teased, grabbing a few extra ingredients from the cupboard. "You could have a finger in every potion in the school...Literally."

Hinata scrunched up his face. "Suga, that's gross! I need my fingers for Quidditch, duh!"

He waved the aforementioned fingers in Suga's face before the older Slytherin batted them away.

Suga hummed before muttering a spell for chalk instructions to appear on the board. "Maybe just a toe or two, then."

Hinata grinned. "Ugh, that's such a Slytherin thing to say, Suga"

Suga laughed. "That bad, huh." He pointed to the board. "Does this potion look familiar?"

"Kind of," Hinata answered. "I'm pretty sure Professor Irihata mentioned it."

Suga nodded. "He tends to use this one later in the semester. I figured we'd get a head start. It should be a fairly quick one. Think you're ready?"

Hinata gave him a thumbs up. "Yeah! Watch me. I'm going to make the best potion ever!"

Suga smiled, settling back to watch as Hinata began setting out ingredients. The two sat in relative silence while Hinata started the cauldron to boil, reading over the instructions and asking Suga a few questions.

Privately, Suga thought that Hinata really was getting better at potions. A year ago, he would've already jumped right in and tried to understand the instructions as he'd go.

"How have your other classes been," Suga asked idly.

Hinata shrugged, tongue sticking out slightly in a look of intense concentration. "Meh, they're good. Mananda gave me an Acceptable on that essay you helped me with so at least I'm not failing. Kageyama got a Dreadful so Yachi's got us all studying together for the midterm exam. Charms is still cool and Transfiguration's awesome." Hinata looked up, eyes wide. "Oh, and Professor Shimada showed us the mandrakes and Shibayama passed out in the middle of class."

"I hated the mandrake lesson." Suga grimaced.

"Really?"

Suga nodded. "Their faces always creep me out. Though back in my second year, Shimada kept it just theoretical. Did he mention how long until the mandrakes are ready for the restorative potion?"

"Yeah," Hinata said, squinting back at the instructions and throwing in the first eye of newt. "He said it wouldn't be until the end of the school year. Everyone was really disappointed."

Suga sighed. "Maybe they'll bloom early and we can finally get rid of all the Heir of Slytherin talk."

Hinata frowned, pausing from cutting up the next ingredient. "What Heir of Slytherin talk?"

Suga jerked his head up.

"You know.." Suga waved his hand ineffectively. "All the gossip about the Chamber of Secrets and everything? Heir of Slytherin, the monster? I know you saw the message on the wall. You must've heard the rumors by now."

"Oh, yeah, _the message_ ," Hinata said before looking somewhat sheepish. "Um, I kind of...I might of forgot about that...um, just a bit."

Suga stared at him incredulously.

"Well, not like _forgot_ forgot," Hinata corrected hastily. "Just like forgot in the didn't really think about it kind of way. Is that...is that bad?"

Suga raised an eyebrow.

"There was a Quidditch game!" Hinata protested. "Why would I care about some stupid message when there was _Quidditch._..Suga?...Suga, wait, no, stop laughing."

Suga couldn't help it, he was nearly bent over the table and tears were in his eyes.

"What? What did I say," Hinata asked, brows furrowing. He huffed. "Quidditch is much cooler."

Suga smiled, shaking his head fondly. "Only you, Hinata."

Hinata's mouth twisted, obviously trying to decide whether that was a compliment or not.

Eventually, he shrugged. "Alright, I guess I kind of remember Kenma saying something about the Heir and the whole Chamber of Secrets thing now that you mention it. I thought that was all just a legend though?"

"It is," Suga agreed firmly.

He let out a slow breath, shaking his head. "Really, you probably had the right idea forgetting about it. I'm sure everyone else will in another week or so."

 _Trying to convince Hinata or yourself?_

Suga waved that thought away.

Hinata grinned. "Still, I guess it is kind of cool. I mean not the whole monster thing or that guy getting petrified _obviously_. But, the whole hidden Heir thing. Like a mystery book or something."

Suga briefly cursed the irony that Hinata was probably the one person in the _entirety of Hogwarts_ who hadn't been curious about the Heir and now Suga had brought it up himself.

"There is no Heir," Suga said, ignoring the way the lie stuck to his throat like tar. "It's just a myth."

"I bet it's Professor Mananda," Hinata hummed blithely, beginning to stir the cauldron. "His homework is evil, so it makes sense he would be, too."

Suga rolled his eyes before pausing...that, that actually wasn't a bad guess. In fact, hadn't Oikawa mentioned something similar awhile ago.

The pieces fit. The attack on Mori was only a month after Mananda started teaching. A defense specialist of Mananda's caliber-even with his woeful inadequate teaching-would definitely know some dark curses. With Mananda's focus on the theoretical, Suga wouldn't be surprised if the professor knew how to _create_ a dark curse, which would certainly explain the problems everyone had identifying it.

"Suga?"

Suga looked up to see Hinata waiting to add the last step of the potion.

"Sorry, go ahead." Suga stepped up to Hinata's cauldron and shoved his previous thoughts to the back of his mind.

He leaned over, closely examining the cauldron and scooping out a vial of liquid.

"Excellent job, Hinata," Suga complimented, holding the vial up to the light and watching it shimmer from dark blue to a light pink. "Maybe a hair too much horklump juice. The mixture should end in red, not a pink."

"Will it still work" Hinata asked.

"Definitely," Suga announced, handing the vial back to Hinata. "Want to try it?"

Hinata nodded, leaning forward as Suga pulled out a spare piece of parchment.

"Just one drop should do it," Suga instructed and Hinata carefully tilted the vial over the paper.

As soon as it touched the paper, the parchment shone with a blue gleam before the potion fully soaked in.

"One fireproof parchment," Suga said, holding up the paper and waving it under the cauldron flame before handing the untouched paper to Hinata.

"Cool," Hinata grinned, folding it into his bag while Suga banished the remainder of the potion.

"Walking back to your common room," Suga asked, giving a final check to the lab.

"Awww, Suga, you don't have to keep walking me back! I'll be fine," Hinata complained. "Besides, I've gotta go to the owlery tonight, anyway."

"That's halfway across campus."

"Yeah, I know," Hinata groaned, walking out the lab while Suga locked up. "I forgot to give the letter to Karasuna this morning."

"It can't wait until tomorrow," Suga asked

Hinata shook his head. "Nah, it's Natsu's birthday tomorrow. If I wait, there's no way Karasuna can fly there in time."

Suga bit his lip, thinking.

"But, that's why you don't _need_ to walk me back," Hinata urged. "I'll be fine and it's been like over a month since that guy was petrified and nothing's happened since."

"Hinata," Suga protested.

"You're the one who said it was all a legend anyway, right," Hinata said, shooting Suga large plaintive eyes.

Suga looked at him before sighing. "Alright...promise, you'll be careful?"

"Promise!" Hinata chirped. "I'll go to the owlery and then straight back to the common room!"

Suga eyed him critically. "You know the _one time_ I don't walk you back is going to be when something happens, don't you?"

"Pft, you and Kenma always worry too much," Hinata said, rolling his eyes. He turned on his heel and threw one last look behind him. "Night, Suga!"

"Good night, Hinata," Suga huffed, watching as the boy started skidding down the hall in the direction of the owlery.

 _Well,_ Suga thought, eying his watch. _At least, now, I'll have time to talk to Oikawa about Mananda._

 _ooooooo_

"Hey, Karasuna," Hinata greeted, bending down to scratch the crow's head. "Sorry, I'm so late."

Karasuna let out a _caw_ in a vague recriminatory tone.

"I know, I know, I should've given it to you this morning," Hinata said, sitting his bag down. "Think you can still make it by tomorrow?"

The bird gave him a flat look before pecking Hinata's hand.

He laughed. "I get it! I shouldn't have doubted you."

Hinata bent down, digging through his bag for the letter. "Um, just one second. I know it's here somewhere."

Karasuna swooped down from the ledge and started picking through the bag along with Hinata.

"Found it!" Hinata shouted, holding up the slightly bent letter.

Karasuna let out a questioning note, poking her beak at something in the bag.

Hinata looked down. "Oh, that's just an old diary I found. It's boring, it doesn't even work right so I can't show it to anyone."

Karasuna grabbed on to the book, bringing it to Hinata's hand.

"Yeah, I guess I should probably get rid of it," Hinata said, flipping through the pages.

Karasuna let out another caw.

"I don't know why it was here. It belonged to some kid like a hundred years ago."

Hinata frowned, pausing. "Wait...a second."

Hinata flipped to the first page where the writing still shone from the last time he'd seen the memory.

"Oh my gosh, Karasuna! I'm an idiot, look!" He held up the page to the bird, who obligingly looked down before letting out a confused note. She flapped her wings restlessly

"The Heir," Hinata shouted, voice getting louder. "He said he was the Heir! I can't believe I forgot!"

The latest outburst set off a string of angry hoots from the owls.

"Sorry," Hinata winced, before turning down and whispering to Karasuna. "It's like the legend! The one that everyone's talking about. The Heir that no one know who it is-but we know, it was this kid!"

Karasuna tilted her head but Hinata didn't notice, turning to the next page. "If he's the Heir, the diary probably has stuff about the whole Chamber of Secrets thing, too." Hinata's eyes lit up. "Maybe it even can tell me about the pertifications."

Karasuna let out a sharp warning thrill and Hinata petted her head absently, already looking down at the page. " September 1, 1937."

 _Dear Future Descendants,_

 _It's my first night at Hogwarts and something terrible has happened._

Hinata felt the same sharp tug in his stomach. The world circling to the disorienting blur and then…

Loud cheering echoing around him. Hinata blinked and around him, the Great Hall formed-tables filled with unfamiliar faces, all looking to him.

...Or...not at him, exactly.

"Hisashi Noroi," called a regal looking witch and the same boy from earlier walked forward, stepping past a hair breadth away from Hinata.

"Oh," Hinata said to the notice of no one. "The Sorting Ceremony."

And it was. The old hat laid on a stool, exactly like Hinata had seen a few months ago, despite the fact that this had to be well over fifty years ago.

Walking past as Hisashi sat on the stool-back straight and shoulders tense-Hinata took in the Great Hall with a creeping sense of familiarity. Around him, no one reacted, not even when Hinata waved his hand right in front of one of their faces.

Hinata fought back a shiver. _Like being a ghost._

Or worse, since there in the back of the Hall was the Fat Friar, casually chatting to Nearly Headless Nick and what looked like a new Hufflepuff.

" _An Heir?"_

Hinata jumped, twisting back to the front.

Sitting on the stool, Hisashi had tensed and Hinata breathed out in realization.

The rest of the students simply stared at the front, not showing any signs that this was anything other than a normal Sorting Ceremony.

" _Haven't sorted an Heir in at least a decade. Even longer since a Slytherin Heir."_

On top of Hisashi's head, the Sorting Hat crinkled in a contemplative expression-mouth-like brim thinning as one side lifted up in a gesture similar to raising an eyebrow.

Hinata saw Hisashi frown and he guessed the boy was thinking.

" _Hmm,"_ the voice of the hat echoed through the memory. " _Just because you're the Heir doesn't mean you have to reside in the House of Snakes. Sure you don't want to reconsider?"_

Hisashi tensed, eyes flying wide.

" _Well, don't panic now, I haven't decided for certain. Clear ambition, I see that-though, I have to wonder at its root. Cunning is obvious, too. So much disdain for the House of Lions? Come now, they aren't that bad."_

Hisashi's lips thinned.

" _No, no, I don't see you in Gryffindor either. Unfortunate, really, though I'm certain you'd disagree….Hmm, Slytherin or Hufflepuff-that's the question."_

"Hufflepuff's the best," Hinata enthused, coming to lean down beside the boy who looked so small and nervous. The reassurance fell on deaf ears.

" _I supposed I know the decision. I must remind you though. Cunning is all well and good, but the greatest choices are often made of loyalty."_

Hinata frowned, looking to see Hisashi's reaction before-

"SLYTHERIN!"

The green and silver table stood up in a cheer and Hisashi made his way over, head held high and the air of confidence back. Hinata followed him, like a silent specter over his shoulder.

"Congratulations," whispered a brown-haired boy sitting next to Hisashi.

Hinata took it back. If Hisashi had looked small before, this boy was _tiny._

Hisashi sniffed. "Of course, I'm a Noroi. We're one of the oldest pureblood families alive. Where else would I go but Slytherin?"

The brunette frowned. "Huh, then why did the hat take so long to decide?"

Hisashi stiffened, turning in his seat to glare. "The hat probably just wanted more time to talk to someone of my family's caliber."

"Okay," the boy said in a tone that didn't sound quite convinced.

"Who are you anyway?" Hisashi demanded. "I don't remember seeing you at any of the pureblood gatherings. Foreign wizard, are you?"

The boy smiled. "No, I'm from England. Ichiro Ignathe-you can just call me Ichiro, though. Everyone does."

"Never heard of you," Hisashi said briskly. "What family are you a part of?"

Ichiro opened his mouth before loud cheering cut them off as the table stood to welcome the newest addition to Slytherin.

"Ueno, glad to see you made it," Hisashi greeted, making room as the other boy joined the table.

The new boy-Ueno-snorted. "As if I'd be anywhere else. I just can't believe I had to wait in the bloody line for so long."

Further conversation ceased as the Headmaster-not Headmaster Ukai, which for Hinata was just weird-gave a brief address before starting the meal.

Hinata quickly realized that there were few things more boring than watching a meal that you couldn't eat or even talk to people. He sat morosely, hoping this memory would end soon or wondering if there was a way to speed things along. He'd have to ask Kenma later.

Finally, the students were dismissed and Hinata perked up as Hisashi started following the Slytherin Head Boy down to the dungeons.

Hinata grinned. _Cool!_

Lev was always bragging that Slytherin had the best common room.

"Tantum Noblis," the Slytherin Head Boy recited, stopping at a seemingly insignificant section of damp stone wall.

The stone brick slid open and Hinata-along with the rest of the eager Slytherin first years-peaked around to get the first look into the Slytherin common room.

Hinata was...honestly, it was less impressive than Hinata had expected it to be. Sure, the green lighting was kind of cool and the furniture looked really fancy. But...it didn't really look comfortable. Not a warm place to relax like the Hufflepuff's common room.

"I knew Lev was exaggerating that they had a live dragon," Hinata muttered.

The first years looked excited enough though so maybe it was just a Slytherin thing.

"Slytherins," the Head Boy announced, gaining their attention. "Do remember, you are now part of the most noble House in Hogwarts and you are expected to act the part. A full House orientation and manner lessons will take place here tomorrow evening, so do try not to embarrass your House before then. "

The Slytherin first years shifted uncomfortably and Hinata stuck out his tongue, waving a hand through the memory of the Head Boy and watching the image scatter like smoke before reassembling.

"I can see some of you will require longer lessons than usual," the Head Boy continued pompously, completely unaware of Hinata. "Nevertheless, I will now direct you to your rooms. Normally, Slytherin puts four to a room but since there's an odd number of you, we'll have to adapt." He eyed the group critically. "Unless, a couple of you would like to make my job easier and get expelled."

The boys looked at each other, obviously unsure what to say.

The Head Boy sighed. "I suppose not. Alright, then. You," he pointed at Hisashi, "and you," he pointed to the brunette Ichiro from earlier, "Congratulations, you are now the lucky two that get to bunk two to a room instead of four."

Hisashi grinned and some of the other boys cast jealous looks in his direction.

"The house elves should already have brought up your stuff," the Head Boy explained, leading the group to the top of the stairs. "These rooms will be yours for the entirety of the seven years and we _do not_ acknowledge room changes so either get along, pretend to get along, or dispose of your unwanted roommates in a way that won't get you caught. Now, this group has the room on the right. The two from earlier are on left. Hogwarts requires me to offer my assistance if you need help." He raised an eyebrow at the group. "That said, don't need help."

And with that last less than helpful note, the older teen turned abruptly and disappeared down the hall.

The Slytherin first years stared after him for a long second before one of the braver ones cleared his throat and carefully edged forward to the door on the right.

Beside Hinata, Hisashi seemed to shake himself and with one imperious flip of his hair, pushed forward his own door.

Behind him, Ichiro slipped in as well and Hinata followed unseen..

The Slytherin dorms, truthfully, looked a lot like the Hufflepuff dorms-right down to the four post beds and the already lit fireplace. Really the only difference was the lack of extra beds and the large floor length windows showing out into the eerie green of the Great Lake.

"Well, somewhat cramped but I suppose it's better than having four to a room," Hisashi remarked, taking the bed with a large ornate trunk beside it.

Across the room, Ichiro hummed and looked down at a much smaller and more battered trunk. "This is amazing. It's twice the size of my room at home and that one I already share with four."

Hisashi's face scrunched up. "Merlin! Is your family poor or something? That's terrible."

Ichiro just shrugged. "It's fine. I'm used to it. I live in an orphanage so there's just not much extra room."

Hinata's head shot up, looking intently at the brunette boy.

"An orphanage," Hisashi exclaimed. "How did a pureblood end up in an orphanage?"

Ichiro frowned. "What's a pureblood?"

Hisashi jumped off the bed, coming over to stare at Ichiro. "What's a _pureblood?_ What do you mean what's a pureblood? Who raised you? Muggles?"

"Um, Muggle's are people that can't do magic, right?" Ichiro asked, leaning back at Hisashi's expression. "I mean the orphanage workers raised me so...I guess I was raised by Muggles."

Hisashi gaped at him and Hinata suddenly had a _really_ bad feeling about this.

Ichiro seemed to sense something wrong, too.

"It's not that big of a deal," Ichiro said hastily. "My parents were Muggles so it's not like anyone knew I had magic before the letter. It makes sense me and my brother would go to a Muggle orphanage."

"A _mudblood,_ " Hisashi swore and Hinata flinched back while Ichiro still looked mostly confused. "A _mudblood_ was sorted into Slytherin. This has to be some kind of mistake." Hisashi's face went white. "Oh, Merlin, and I'm rooming with you."

Hisashi looked up wildly, pointing a finger at Ichiro. "Listen to me. You can't tell _anyone_ you're a mudblood. Got it?" Hisashi blinked as if realizing something. "Oh, no, you haven't told anyone already, have you?"

Ichiro frowned, looking confused and a bit afraid. "No...ah, no, I haven't told anyone." Ichiro bit his lip. "I mean I guess Professor Ukai knows. He gave me the letter. Why is being a, um, a mudblood something bad?"

"Bad," Hisashi said, letting out a panicked laugh. "It's the worst. Mudblood's don't belong in the Wizarding World, everyone knows that. My father told me they break down the entire magical society. They're...they're _unnatural_." Hisashi shuddered. "Look, no one and I mean _no one_ can know you're a mudblood. Ueno would never let me live it down. Not to mention-"

Hisashi cut himself off. "Don't tell anyone, alright?"

Ichiro's mouth open and closed ineffectively before finally, he nodded. "Okay...yeah, I won't...I won't tell anyone. I promise."

"Good," Hisashi said, letting out a deep breath before flopping heavily down on his bed.

Much more cautiously, Ichiro sat on his own bed and wrapped his arms around his leg.

Hinata balled up his fists, swapping between glaring at Hisashi and looking at Ichiro- trying to think of...of, well, anything to do. Any reassurance he could make.

Around him, the edges of the memory started to blur-details becoming indistinct and faded.

Before the entire scene faded, Hinata heard Hisashi let out one last sigh.

"A mudblood in Slytherin! Honestly, you have to be the first one in existence."

The world descended into that familiar fog and Hinata blinked again, back in a dark owlery with Karasuna cawing worriedly at his side.

"That...that _jerk_ ," Hinata said, dropping the diary and shooting to his feet. "Ugh, Karasuna, why are some people so...so...so _like that!_ "

Hinata breathed heavily, trying to slow down his heartbeat.

He glared at the diary that Karasuna was now lightly pecking at. She looked up at Hinata.

"You didn't see it, Karasuna. He was so _mean_ and it was all because...because ." Hinata swallowed, feeling something tight and sharp behind his eyes. "Man, I can't believe I actually felt sorry for that guy."

Hinata picked up the diary and glancing down at the new words left behind.

They were brief, slanted as if written quickly.

 _I hope Father doesn't find out._

 _Superbiam Nunquam Cadere_

 _Hisashi Noroi_

Hinata rolled his eyes. "See, what a jerk!"

Karasuna let out a curious sounding note, while holding out her leg.

Rolling his shoulders, Hinata grabbed the letter and started tying it to her leg. "Yeah, apparently he really is the Heir of Slytherin or whatever. Even the Sorting Hat said so. And, honestly, I wouldn't be that surprised if someone like him wanted to attack muggleborns."

Karasuna tapped down on the top of the page.

"Okay, probably not actually _him_ since this was like eighty years ago," Hinata admitted.

Tilting her head, Karasuna looked between Hinata and the diary.

"I don't know." Hinata asked, scratching her feathers. " I just...if he's going to be like that, I don't really want to see more, you know?"

Karasuna flew up, landing on his shoulder and ruffling his hair in a way that almost reminded Hinata of Suga.

"Thanks," Hinata said, giving her a small smile and letting his eyes close.

As soon as he did, Karasuna let out a soft thrill.

"What is it?"

Karasuna flew down, tapping at his wrist.

"Oh, crap," Hinata swore. "It's almost curfew. Bye, Karasuna. Be safe, okay?"

Karasuna let out a caw, pecking him in the back towards the direction of the stairs.

He grinned, slinging up his bag and hurrying down the stairs.

If someone was keeping records for rushing down stairs at ill advised speeds-and, at Hogwarts, Hinata wouldn't be too surprised if someone was-Hinata was pretty sure he was breaking them all.

He probably wouldn't be in _too much_ trouble if he was just like...ten minutes late, right? Okay, maybe, twenty.

Really, he had snuck out way later with Kageyama and Yachi pretty much all last year so comparatively this shouldn't even matter!

He kinda doubted the Prefects would see it like that though.

Hinata twisted around another corner and his foot caught, sending him practically airborne before-

 _ **BANG!**_

.. landing painfully in a heap alongside the sound of clanging metal.

There was long full second where Hinata just laid there in the debris-already feeling the bruises forming down his back and the sharp twinge from his ankle.

Wincing, he picked himself up and looked at the fallen pieces of knight's armor scattered around the marble floor

He groaned.

Well, there was no way he was going to get back before curfew now. He might as well give up hope.

With a grimace, he grabbed the wall and levered himself up, eyes catching on a large black lump laying further down the hall.

A large _familiar_ lump.

Hinata screamed.

Staring forward with glassy vacant eyes, Professor Mananda didn't respond.

ooooooo

A/N: Thank you so much for everyone's kind words and encouragement! Ya'll are the best! Hopefully, the chapter was worth to the wait; the next one will hopefully be up by the usual Friday but definitely at the latest Sunday. I promise that after that I actually will be back to the normal schedule. Thanks again for the patience! Next Chapter: Making Plans


	9. Making Plans

"It was terrible," Hinata shuddered. "Like looking at a body."

Yachi made a small sympathetic noise, leaning closer on the couch and hugging him.

From his place on the floor, Kageyama cleared his throat awkwardly. "But, I mean he wasn't...you know...Professor Nekomata said he was petrified so he'll be fine once the mandrakes are ready." Kageyama shrugged. "Unless Slytherin's monster gets to him and kills-OW, Yachi, what was that for?"

"The teachers will figure something out," Yachi said softly, ignoring Kageyama rubbing his arm. "The monster and the Heir and...well, everything! And it will all be fine."

"About that…" Hinata bit his lip, glancing around the mostly deserted Hufflepuff common room. "I think...I think I might be able to help."

Both pairs of eyes turned to him, expressions ranging from trepidation to outright warning.

"Geeze, not like that! It's not anything dangerous," Hinata huffed, arms folding over his chest. "It's the diary! I think it has stuff about the Chamber of Secrets in it?"

The two relaxed slowly and Yachi frowned. "What do you mean?"

Hinata bent down, rooting in his bag for the diary. "I remembered something in the first memory so I watched another one. Guys, the Sorting Hat said that the kid from the diary was the Heir to Slytherin!"

Kageyama's face twisted into his confused scowl. "I thought that line died out."

"Well, maybe it didn't. I think," Hinata paused, "I think I'm going to go through the diary and see if it has anything. I don't know...it could have something about the pertifications, right?"

"It might. I've," Yachi bit her lip. "I've actually been trying to research the Chamber of Secrets a bit on my own."

"Yachi, that's so cool!" Hinata shouted Why didn't you tell us? Did you find anything?"

Yachi blushed. "It's nothing...I know everyone's researching it right now, so I'm sure I won't find anything new but, um...I just wanted to learn about it, you know? And the library asssistant's been really helpful."

"No, Yachi, that's great," Hinata encouraged

Kageyama cleared his throat uncomfortably. "If you want some help, I could come with you." He grimaced. "I can't promise I'll be very good at research though."

Yachi's eyes lit up. "Really? Well...if you two really want to, I wouldn't mind some help sorting through the legend sections….it's kind of, well, it's a bit huge."

"Of course, we'll help," Hinata said immediately. "I'm-I'm going to try the diary again tonight. And you guys do the research on the legends and everything and then we'll meet back up, okay?"

"Tell us if you find anything," Yachi asked, nodding. "I'll research anything you find."

Hinata grinned widely, pulling an arm around Yachi's shoulder and aiming a light kick at Kageyama. "This is awesome! Between the three of us, no way we won't find out who's behind the petrifications!"

Yachi laughed, poking his ribs. "And then tell a teacher, right? No more taking unnecessary risks like last year, okay, Hinata?"

"Of course," Hinata agreed. "Come on, Yachi! It's a diary and library research, how much trouble could they be?"

ooooooo

"I don't get it," Noya said, leaning back on his bed. "Mananda was a pureblood, right? Why'd the Heir attack him?"

On the floor, Asahi shivered. "I heard that it's because his magic levels were so low."

"Apparently, he was almost at squib levels." Ennoshita nodded. "That's why whatever petrified him hit him so hard."

"Poor Professor Mananda," Yamaguchi sighed. "Now, I feel really bad for complaining about all the theoretical stuff."

Tsukishima shrugged. "Meh, he was still a crap teacher."

"Tsuki!"

"What," Tsukishima huffed. "I didn't say that meant he deserved to be petrified."

"I guess this means the attack of Mori wasn't a one off," Tanaka said, staring up at the ceiling. "Man, this sucks! You don't think they're going to close the school or anything?"

Daichi shook his head. "If they were, I'm sure we'd have heard something. Right now, everyone's probably just trying to figure out what's going on?"

"What _is_ going on," Ennoshita asked. "I mean petrifications aren't exactly common."

Tanaka glanced up. "Yo, Noya, any creatures that can petrify people?"

"Yeah, a few," Noya said.

The entire room collectively turned to the unofficial monsters expert.

Noya shrugged. "I mean gorgons can obviously...so can stone fairies, cockatirces, there's a type of dragon from East Asia whose blood can if you bathe a person in it. Based on symptoms though, I'd say basilisk."

He finished with a nod as if obvious.

The rest of the group exchanged silent glances, clearly checking to see if anyone knew what a basilisk was.

Finally, Yamaguchi took the chance. "Um, and a basilisk is…"

Noya frowned. "Seriously?" He glanced around the room seeing looks of similar confusion-or Tsukishima's case, annoyance. "Guys, they're in the basic _Fantastic Beasts_ book. That's required reading for Care of Magical Creatures."

Tsukishima sent him a flat look. "Not everyone memorizes creatures in their spare time."

"I have failed as a friend," Noya moaned, hand to his chest in a melodramatic fashion. "A basilisk is basically a giant snake-snake egg hatched from under a toad. They've been banned since like the Middle Ages though, so there's only...I think two left and they're in a preserve in South America."

"Why were they banned," Asahi asked.

"Other than the fact that a giant snake sounds terrifying," Ennoshita commented dryly.

"Speak for yourself, a basilisk would be _awesome_ ," Noya grinned before pausing. "I mean other than the whole killing people with one look thing...oh, and they're incredibly venomous like a drop of venom would kill you...plus they feed on magic."

There was a beat of silence before-

"You know," Yamaguchi said slowly. "Sometimes I think we got off lightly that you _just_ brought a dragon egg last year."

Noya shrugged but didn't deny it.

"Why do you think the attacks could have been a basilisk," Daichi asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. "More importantly, if basilisks are so well known, why haven't the professors done anything?"

"Oh, I didn't say a basilisk was _likely,_ " Noya corrected, blithely ignoring the palpable relief of the room. "I said it was the most likely of the creatures because of how they were petrified. Gorgons turn people to literal stone, so it's not one of them. And both cockatrice and stone fairies only petrify people for a few days. Basilisk fits the symptoms best but even then, there's like a zero percent chance it's one of them."

"I'm going to regret this," Tsukishima muttered. "But why is there a zero percent chance?"

Noya scratched his chin. "Well, I mean first, it takes a basilisk around a hundred years to mature enough to petrify people so it's not like one would just show up out of nowhere. Plus, they'd be like ten meters long by then so someone would've definitely noticed if one was in the castle. Also, there's…" Noya hesitated. "Well, basilisk's tend to kill people not petrify them. It's how they feed on magic. The odds of getting petrified instead of killed is like one in a hundred. With two victims...it's kind of unlikely they'd both get that lucky."

The group digested this in eerie silence.

"And there's the whole Slytherin monster thing," Noya added in a forcefully lighter tone. "No way a basilisk-or well, anything really-could live that long without food or magic. So, we're definitely good."

Asahi gave a shy smile, leaning back on the wall. "Well, I'm glad we don't have to worry about being attacked by a giant snake."

"No," Ennoshita agreed. "Just being attacked by something else...or someone."

ooooooo

" _Protego!"_

The orange of Kuroo's Jelly Leg Jinx sparked out on the hastily called shield and Oikawa quickly retaliated with an Disarming Charm.

Kuroo dodged easily, throwing a brief smirk while Iwaizumi threw another jinx from over his shoulder.

A few months into Dueling Club and the captain, Ishida, had divided the class into set groups of four based on compatibility and instructed to swap between partners for duo duels.

To no real surprise, Oikawa, Iwaizumi, and Kuroo had been matched together fairly quickly. Unfortunately, that still left the last spot for-

" _Merlin,_ " Oikawa swore as a curse flickered passed a few centimeters away from his ear. He twisted and glared. "Watch where you're aiming! You nearly hit _me_!"

Daishio shrugged, face the picture of unconcerned. "I didn't though. And, look, it seemed to be effective."

On the other side of the dueling mat, Iwaizumi had caught the Body Bind Curse full in the chest causing Kuroo to try to redirect and free him.

Oikawa sent a Shocking Jinx at him before he could reach Iwaizumi.

Daisho tsked. "See, you should trust me more."

Oikawa muttered something unflattering under his breath as the two doubled their efforts on Kuroo until one of the Disarming Charms sent his wand spinning up and into Oikawa's hand.

"Great job, guys!" Ishido called, walking over from where he'd been supervising other duels. "Now, swap up partners. We got time for one more round then you guys are good to go."

Oikawa nodded, walking over to the still bound Iwaizumi before throwing out the counter charm and helping him to his feet.

The two new group readied at opposite ends of the mat while Ishido counted down to start.

"Begin!"

At once, Kuroo and Oikawa both fired off spells, the two jets of color colliding brightly with each other and fizzling out in the middle of the air.

Daishio used the distraction to cast Stinging Charm that sored over the light and almost hit Oikawa in the face.

The most annoying thing was that for all of Daisho's shitty personality, he really did work well with them. A good balance of versatility to match Iwaizumi's stronger but more standard spell work, of adding spontaneity to Kuroo's careful strategy, and of matching closely with Oikawa's faster and more Slytherin tactics.

It made for an annoyingly good dueling partner, both as an opponent and ally.

Oikawa grimaced as he dodged Daisho's next spell, almost stepping out of bounds as he did. Daisho smirked back, shooting another to land just inside the boundary.

...His personality was still terrible, though.

Oikawa briefly caught Iwaizumi's eye before darting a look to the floor.

Iwaizumi nodded.

" _Protego!"_

Iwaizumi's blue shield covered their side, catching both a green spell from Daisho and a purple one from Kuroo.

The shield dropped and Oikawa whispered a spell under his breath, catching Kuroo's attention as the Ravenclaw brought his wand up in a clearly defensive position

Oikawa smiled, jerking his wand down at the last second as icy blue light shot out and covered the floor in water.

Before they could react, Iwaizumi's Freezing Charm hit right in the center, catching the water around Kuroo and Daisho's feet.

" _Expelliarmus,"_ Iwaizumi called just as Oikawa said, " _Locomotor Wibbly."_

Daisho fell back on the ice as Kuroo just barely managed to keep hold of his wand, slipping on the ice as he did.

Oikawa hit him with a Body-Bind before he could get up.

The whistle sounded, ending the duel.

Kuroo winced as Iwaizumi used the counter charm. "I hate you two. You _know_ I hate the cold."

"Why do you think we used it," Oikawa called, vanishing the ice while Daisho hastily reversed the Jelly-Jinx Charm. "We knew it would interfere with your delicate sensibilities."

Kuroo smirked, walking to the door and waggling his eyebrows suggestively. "Maybe it only bothers me cause I'm so hot."

Daisho let out a loud snort.

"No one asked you." Kuroo glared.

"Ignore him," Oikawa said, slinging an arm around Kuroo. "He just annoyed because his girlfriend said he focused on Quidditch too much."

Daisho immediately went beat red, barely huffing out a "Please, as if," before turning and walking quickly down the hall.

Oikawa and Kuroo watched him walk away and then turned to each other in unison. "I hate that guy."

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. "He's not that bad."

"Iwa-chan obviously has no taste," Oikawa sniffed, turning down the opposite hall.

"He's friends with us," Kuroo commented.

"Is that supposed to be a point in favor of Iwa-chan's taste or against?"

"Against, of course," Kuroo said, before turning to Oikawa with a cat-like smirk. "And speaking about taste, what's this I hear about you going on a date with Mai Nametsu, hmmmm?"

Oikawa's neck went warm. "How did you hear about that already?"

"Ha, so it's true!" Kuroo said, smirk getting impossibly wider. "One of the Ravenclaw portraits asked me to confirm."

"Gossipy paintings," Oikawa muttered before sighing. "Look, it's not that big of a deal. We're just going to Hogsmeade together."

"It looked like a big deal to her," Iwaizumi pointed out. "She kept looking at you all through dinner."

Oikawa felt the blush spread to his face. "I-I didn't notice."

"Oh ho ho," Kuroo called. "And exactly where do you plan to take her on your first Hogsmeade date?"

Oikawa shrugged, uncomfortable. "I don't know. I figured Madam Puddifoot's or something?"

"Classic, basically a Hogwart's tradition," Kuroo said approvingly. He wiped away a fake tear, turning to Iwaizumi. "Aww, our little Oikawa's growing up."

"Yeah, yeah, alright." Oikawa glared. "Can we talk about something _other_ than my dating life now? Maybe that our teacher was mysteriously petrified by a supposed legendary Heir?"

Kuroo grinned. "Well, no points for subtlety, but fine, I'll take the distraction." He sobered. "This is getting serious. I think we need to start another Investigators' Club meeting."

"Could do it tomorrow," Iwaizumi suggested. "Bokuto's off from Quidditch practice and Suga doesn't have tutoring."

Oikawa nodded. "What gets me is the randomness, you know? First, we have Mori-who's a muggleborn, yeah, but not exactly a prominent student. Then, there's the message and all the Heir stuff gets added in. And, now, Mananda-a pureblood. What's the connection?"

"Everyone's been saying it's because Mananda was almost a squib," Iwaizumi said.

"Yeah, but nobody knew that until _after_ he was petrified," Oikawa reminded, frowning.

"You think there's another connection," Kuroo asked.

"I think…" Oikawa paused, shaking his head. "I think we're missing part of the story."

ooooooo

Sitting in one of library's hidden back tables, Hinata took a deep breath before opening the diary.

"November 12, 1937"

 _Dear Future Descendants,_

 _Well, my roommate doesn't seem to have told anyone about his_ " _condition"_ _so at least I appear to be the only one who knows. We've decided to simply ignore each other which I have no doubt Father would call a "proper response"._ _Not that I've told him, of course._

 _Classes are going well_ _-a bit harder than I anticipated **bu**_ ** _t_** _I'm still near the top of the class as expected. Surprisingly, my roommate is also doing decently_ _even better than me._ _It's curious. I_ _'ve always heard his kind are doomed to fail and drag down everyone else, I don't-_

 _Anyway, Father would say this means he's found a way to cheat so I've been working on finding out how and still haven't found it yet._

 _I'm beginning to think he's not._.. _ **But,** of course, he has to be so I'll keep searching._

 _I apologize for all the errors this entry. I'm distracted tonight. It's_ _my "roommate's" fault._

 _He said-well, I might as well just show you so that you can laugh at the absolute absurdity, too._

The familiar lurch and Hinata found himself yet again in the Slytherin dormitory-the distinctive eerie green of the lake filtering in from the large windows.

Finding a place on the window ledge, Hinata settled back to watch the memory play out.

There was the sound of a door closing and Hisashi strode into the room-passed Ichiro, sitting quietly on his bed and surrounded my books.

With an obviously frustrated expression, Hisashi began pacing the room.

"Stupid Ueno," Hisashi muttered. "As if he knows anything about my father."

He made a sweeping motion at the bed frame, almost hitting it before his hand clenched into a fist at his side.

Across the room, Ichiro looked up from his book. "For the hope of continuing my peaceful studying, I'm compelled to ask what's bothering you."

"Nothing that you would understand," snapped Hisashi. "Just go back to your stupid books."

Ichiro shrugged, un-bothered. "Suit yourself."

The muggleborn did indeed turn back to his book while Hisashi stood awkwardly, seemingly warring between anger and reluctance.

Finally, he sighed. "Fine, since you clearly want to know, Ueno implied that my father wasn't at his family's Halloween ball because we didn't have the money for a proper wizarding carriage."

"Do you," Ichiro asked.

"Of course," Hisashi snarled before the anger seemed to fade out of him, leaving him with something a lot less certain. "Father...Father was just sick this year and...and thought it bad for his health to mingle among the undoubtedly countless diseases at the Ueno estate."

Ichiro merely hummed.

"And then, of course, _of course_ ," Hisashi huffed, rolling his eyes. "Ueno made some comment about the Noroi's 'unfortunate fall in power'. As if _he'd_ know anything about falling power! His family' only joined the English purebloods a century ago. Before that, they were French. _French!_ "

"Yes, how terrible," Ichiro said in a bored flat voice.

Hisashi glared. "Well, what would you know anyway, mudblood?"

Ichiro shrugged, looking down at his book. "I know that you and Ueno are really terrible at being friends."

Surprise bloomed across Hisashi's face, making him look oddly fragile.

It didn't last long before the haughty expression of annoyance was back.

"Well, obviously, we're not _friends_ ," Hisashi said, giving a forced laugh. "That's ridiculous. Who'd want friendships?"

"Not you apparently."

Hisashi sniffed. "Of course, not me. Ueno and I aren't friends. We're something much more important. We're _allies_."

"What's the difference," asked Ichiro, finally looking up with a curious expression.

Hisashi sat down heavily on his bed, leaning his head back to frown at the ceiling. "Friendships are all about feelings, you know? All doing things for others and helping and all of that more simple minded Hufflepuff stuff. Allies are much more important. With allies, whenever you do something, you'll get something in return. Nobody gives anything for free."

Across the room, Ichiro stared at him for awhile before shaking his head.

"What," Hisashi demanded harshly.

"That's just really sad," Ichiro muttered before raising his voice to carry across the room. "You've got it all backwards. Friendships aren't about trading power or who's the weakest. They're about being there for people and knowing they'll be there for you." He rolled his eyes. "You know things _not to do_ with which family's got the prettiest blood." Ichiro paused, shaking his head again. "I bet you've never even had a friend before."

Hisashi's spluttered, face blushing. "Because I don't _want one!_ And, what?! Like you've ever had a friend?"

"I haven't," Ichiro said quietly, fiddling with the edge of his book. "But, then again, I'm not the one trying to pass off a piss poor 'allyship' just so I feel less lonely."

Hisashi's face turned even redder. The pureblood boy open his mouth before snapping it shut with an audible snap.

He huffed, falling back to the bed. "Whatever. You don't know anything anyway."

Around Hinata, the scene muddled quickly almost like someone splashed a hand into a still pool.

He barely at time to blink before he was abruptly out of the scene and looking down at a quickly filling diary.

 _See! It's just infuriating what I have to deal with. Thank Merlin, the winter break is coming up soon._

 _I just feel_... _What did he even mean_... _As if I want..._ _Clearly, I need some sleep before I attempt to deal anymore with his laughable accusations._

 _Superbiam Nunquam Cadere_

 _Hisashi Noroi_

 _ooooooo_

 _A/N:Sorry for the wait, but back on schedule (Woah!). Thank you all for your continued support and kind comments! Next chapter is on the usual Friday._

 _Next Chapter: The Return of the Investigators' Club E_

 _DIT: I just realized that my strike-through font from the diary entries was deleted when I posted it (for some reason it shows on my version but not after posting). I'm sure this was probably really confusing a few chapters ago where the starts of sentences had previously been crossed out. Since I can't do strike thoguhs do words, I've adapted it. I think I fixed it for this chapter. Previous chapter with the strike-through font (which should just be Chapter 4: A Chill in the Air) is now being fixed. Sorry for the earlier confusion._


	10. The Return of the Investigators' Club

_Dear Koushi,_

 _After receiving your letter, the house elves and I have been turning through the family library but so far, haven't found anything about the Chamber outside of passing mentions in history books. Your mother tried accessing the old Slytherin vault at Gringotts-in secret, of course, and the goblins have been adequately compensated for their further discretion. Unfortunately, much of the vault and all family heirlooms are still closed off until a proper male heir comes of age._

 _There's a chance you might be able to negotiate with the goblins when you're home for the holidays but until then I'm afraid your mother and I can't help you except by offering this advice._

 _Koushi, it's in situations such as these that our family's secret_ _must be protected_ _. I can imagine from the tone of your letter that these rumors are quit stressful and you have both our sympathy and support. However, remember that some secrets brought to light, only serve to make the whole world darker. The Sugawara and Noroi family has already been tarnished enough by mine and your grandfather's actions. Any further damage might cripple us permanently._

 _Protect our family's secret, Koushi. It and our wealth are the only true support we have left._

 _I'm sorry we couldn't help you find the information you need. As you no doubt know, your grandfather was the true family historian and would have been much better suited for these matters. Your best option would be trying his old diary. I assume you brought it with you since the house elves said it was in the manor._

 _Both I and your mother wish you the best and hope you heed our advice. If in need of strength, always remember: Superbiam Nunquam Cadere_

 _Your Father,_

 _Seiichi Sugawara_

Suga scanned over the letter for at least the twentieth time before looking out over his dorm room.

A dorm room where one section now appeared as if a wild stampede of Hippogriffs barged their way through-throwing papers and bedding in every direction. But, still no diary.

Grinding his teeth, he went through a mental list of places it could be. He'd already checked his trunk five times; his book bag three times; his bed twice; and-in one incredibly desperate move-even attempted a Summoning Charm which was, of course, useless under the diary's anti-theft protections.

His grandfather's diary was gone. Along with Suga's best chance at finding out more about the Chamber of Secrets beside some handed down legends.

If Suga was being honest with himself-and lately, that seemed the only one he was honest to-he was getting a bit more frantic. Okay, maybe, _a lot_ more frantic.

Since Professor Mananda's petrification and near death, the school seemed to have shifted from eager excitement to a much more fearful search for the truth. One which Suga was sure would somehow lead back to his family's roots-no matter, how well, those roots had been buried.

And after that...well, after that, it was only a short jump away from accusing Suga of attacking Mori and Mananda. And then, it wouldn't matter if Suga knew he was innocent. After all, if your father was dark, if your grandfather was dark, if your _entire family_ down to the very founding of Hogwarts was dark, how could you possibly be anything different?

The sound of footsteps interrupted Suga's thoughts.

 _Hide_ , he hissed in Parseltongue and the words on the letter faded and reshuffled until all that was left was a rather bland note encouraging Suga to do well in his studies.

A second later the door opened and Oikawa bounded into the room with a "Suga, do you-"

He stopped, taking in the room before turning to Suga with a bewildered expression. "What happened to your stuff? Was there a localized tornado that I missed?"

Suga laughed sheepishly. "I, um, lost my homework assignment for Transfiguration. Is it that much of a mess?"

Oikawa raised an eyebrow. " _Accio Suga's Transfiguration last homework"_

Somewhere under a pile of books, a roll of parchment wiggled its way through before flying to Oikawa's hand.

Oikawa handed it off to Suga. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine," Suga reassured quickly. "Just maybe a little scatterbrained. What were you saying when you came in?"

Frowning and giving Suga a look that assured that this conversation was _not_ over, Oikawa allowed the change of subject. "The chess board in the common room is free for once. Good for a game?"

"Sure," Suga agreed, trying not to feel too relieved. "Lead the way."

Oikawa nodded, beginning down the hall and starting up a conversation about the future of Defense Against the Dark Arts now that their professor was petrified.

"I heard they're rotating the class between the rest of the teachers," Suga frowned, sitting down at one of the comfy armchairs in front of the black chess pieces. "Though, I'm not sure how they're going to work out the timing."

"Exactly," Oikawa said emphatically. "Plus, how are they going to work out the teaching syllabus? No way they're keeping Mananda's, but that means they're going to be scrambled coming up with a new one in a week's time." He glanced at the board. "Queen's Pawn to d4."

The white pawn leaped forward at the board and Suga narrowed his eyes in thought.

"Still," Suga said slowly. "I think they'll manage. It's not as if any of them are new teachers so they might be able to adapt some of their old lessons. Plus, it'll definitely add variety. King's Knight to f6."

"Optimist," Oikawa accused. "Mhm, you may be right though. Either way, I'm glad it's not our OWL year."

Oikawa glanced up from the board, opening his mouth to call out his next move when-

Suga saw his eyes widen before Oikawa threw himself to the side, just as a lime green spell hit the chair where his head had been a split second before.

The next second found both Suga and Oikawa's wands pointed at a trio of Slytherin fifth years, led by a smirking Tatsuo Okamoto.

"What are you bloody playing at, Okamoto," snarled Oikawa.

Okamoto snorted. "Please, it was just a Bat-Bogey Hex. I'm sure even a mudblood like you could eventually find the counter." He tilted his head, looking between Suga and Oikawa then back at the chessboard. "You're in our spot."

Oikawa hummed nonchalantly, still not lowering his wand. "Are we? I don't see how. I'm fairly positive someone with a skull as thick as yours couldn't be bothered by chess."

Before Okamoto could respond, Oikawa cocked his head suddenly and adapted a thoughtful tone. "Oh, unless you just like to sit beside the board and feel smart. In which case, far be it for me to stand between you and your creature comforts. Suga and I will be off to more... _engaging_ pursuits."

Okamoto's grip on his wand tightened and behind him, the other two Slytherin fifth years shifted uncomfortably.

"Filthy mudblood trash," Okamoto spit. "Ought to know better on how to speak to your betters. Maybe I should show you."

He made to raise his wand but didn't make it halfway before Suga's was pointed directly at his chest.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Suga said sweetly, mouth turning in a smile to sharp to be friendly. "I know _technically_ the odds are in you favor with your three versus our two. But looking at your three," he nodded his head at the other Slytherin fifth years, who still hadn't quite managed the courage to raise their wands. "And looking at our two. Well...let's just say it wouldn't be worth a bet."

Okamoto glared, slowly putting down his wand and watching as Oikawa and Suga backed away to the common room entrance.

"Well, this really has been just as enjoyable a conversation as I've come to expect from you, Okamoto," Oikawa called cheerfully, almost out the door. "Hopefully you'll have better luck bullying some second years. Though, careful! I might want to go after them separately. Together, I think they could take you!"

Okamoto turned a bright angry red, firing off a curse that bounced harmlessly off Oikawa's shield.

"Muggle scum! You won't be laughing when the Heir's monster gets to you! You and all the other filthy mudbloods in this school!"

Oikawa laughed pointedly as he shut the door behind him and Suga.

Suga raised an eyebrow, admonishing look slightly diminished by the smile. "We probably shouldn't provoke him like that."

Oikawa winked back. "Oh please, that was worth every second."

ooooooo

"The east side second floor's done," Tsukishima sighed, sitting down heavily in the Gryffindor's dorm room. "Even all the bathrooms. And don't even _ask_ me how I convinced someone to do that."

Grabbing a spot next to Tsukishima, Yamaguchi gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Awesome, that means we're almost halfway done," Noya chirped. "Man, I can't believe we have an entire day off just because the teachers decided to have some meeting. They should do this every Friday."

"An _emergency_ meeting," Ennoshita emphasized. "They're figuring out what to do with Defense."

Tanaka waved a hand in acknowledgement. "Still! Look at how much of the map we got done!"

For emphasis, he slammed down the half-completed map on the center of the floor, revealing quite a few more lines than were there this morning. It almost looked something like a castle now-at least if they squinted.

"Yay," Tsukishima deadpanned.

Yamaguchi elbowed him in the side.

"Do you think we'll really be able to find out who the Heir is," Asahi asked. "Once it's finished, I mean."

"Of course," Noya said, nodding emphatically. "It'll be easy. All we gotta do is watch the map and find out who gets attacked. Whoever's the last one with them's gotta be the Heir, right?" Noya pointed down to the names in the infirmary. "Plus, look, the names get all grey and lighter when they get petrified."

Daichi rubbed his chin, looking down at the map. "That would mean we'd have to be watching the map when they are petrified though."

" _And_ that the Heir of Slytherin actually attacks people in person," Ennoshita added. "He might just have his monster do it."

Yamaguchi shuddered. "I don't know which would be worse. Being attacked by the monster and the Heir? Or being attacked by a monster and not even finding out who the Heir really is?"

"The second," Asahi answered. "Not knowing always makes it twice as bad."

"Well, the Heir's gotta be a Slytherin, right," Noya reasoned. "I mean that just makes sense."

Daichi shrugged. "It doesn't have to be. I mean maybe the Heir isn't anything like Salazar Slytherin. It has been over a thousand years."

Tsukishima gave him a flat look. "Judging by the petrifications and threatening messages, I think it's safe to say the apple didn't fall far from the tree."

"He's probably a pureblood, too," Asahi mused. "With a family that _really_ hates muggleborns."

"Tsukishima, who are some of the pureblood Slytherin families," Ennoshita asked.

Tsukishima snorted. "It's Slytherin. They're _all_ pureblood."

"The ones with the most, ah, _traditional_ families, then," Ennoshita said.

"You know the assholes," Noya added.

The group looked over as Tsukishima frowned thoughtfully. "The most traditional Slytherin families would be….hmmm,the Miya family."

"Can't be them," Yamaguchi interrupted. "They're twins and the Osamu Miya's a Gryffindor."

Tsukishima nodded. "The Okamoto's."

"That's that Beater on the Quidditch team, right," Tanaka piped up. "He's a dick."

"The Daisho's," Tsukishima continued. "The Ueno's, The Kimura's," He shook his head. "That's all of the main ones that have current students here. Yamaguchi, did I forget any?"

Yamaguchi hummed. "Well, the Sugawara's, of course."

"Oh, right," Tsukishima nodded. "And the Sugawara's, but they're...not politically active currently."

"Just because they're not politically active doesn't mean they're not the Heir," Ennoshita pointed out. "What's Sugawara like? He was involved in that thing with Sora, right?"

"It's not Suga," Daichi interrupted loudly.

The entire room turned to him, surprised.

"Er, ah," Daichi backpedaled. "I just mean that I doubt it's him since...ah, I know him from Herbology and, um, he just doesn't seem the type, okay?"

Unnoticed to everyone but Daichi, Asahi turned his head away and started quietly laughing into his hand.

Ennoshita frowned. "Just because he's nice in class, doesn't mean he always is. Maybe he's just putting on an act for the teachers."

"That's not it," Daichi said firmly. "I...talk to him a bit outside of the class, too. Trust me, Suga would never attack muggleborns. He's the kindest, sweetest-"

"Oh, Merlin! You have a crush on him," Tsukishima shouted.

Daichi spluttered, face turning bright red and Asahi finally fell on the floor laughing.

"Tsuki," Noya started.

"Don't call me that."

"Tsukishima," Noya continued, unbothered. "Don't be silly if Daichi had a crush on someone, he _definitely_ would have told us about it by now. Right, Daichi?"

"O-Of course," Daichi began in a slightly higher pitch than normal. "It's just the thing is-"

"Oh my gosh, Tsukishima was right!" Tanaka said in a slow awed voice. "You _do_ have a crush on him."

"Wait," Ennoshita broke in. "For how long-"

"Ages," Asahi answered with an eye roll. "Literally since the train ride in first year."

"Aww, that's so sweet," Yamaguchi said, only to be interrupted by Noya's "HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL US?!"

"Probably because we react like this," Tsukishima said dryly.

"Not now, Tsukishima," Noya said, frowning contemplatively at Daichi. "This is a serious decision for us."

"Us," Daichi broke in.

"Exactly," Noya agreed. "Daichi's basically like the dad of our group so anyone he dates has to love all of _us_ , too." Noya sighed dramatically. "Ugh, Daichi, I just don't know if we're ready for you to date yet. It's such a big decision."

"Bro," Tanaka said, slinging an arm around him. "Come on. We can't be selfish. He needs this."

Noya whimpered in a way that was somehow half pathetic and half considering.

"He really does," Asahi put in. "You should've seen when he tried to ask Suga out in Herbology. It was a disaster"

Taking a deep breath, Noya sat up-eyes shined with renewed hope and he lurched forward to grab Daichi's hands. "You're right. Daichi, I'm so sorry. Asahi's right. You need us. And I promise that all of us will work tirelessly through both day and night to help you wooo this guy. You can count on us!"

There was a long pause where Daichi swore he could feel something honestly break inside of him-possibly his sanity.

" _Oh, Merlin, no."_

ooooooo

Hinata groaned, falling back on the roof of the Runes tower. "This is pointless."

"It's only been a few days," Yachi said gently, turning another page in her giant book on Hogwarts legends. "Don't give up hope yet."

"A few days for _me_ ," Hinata corrected. "For the diary, I'm already almost through the entire first year. And all it is him talking about school and arguing with his roommate. There's nothing about the Chamber of the Secrets or the Heir or anything! He doesn't even play Quidditch!"

Kageyama let out a pained grunt and Hinata nodded emphatically.

Yachi smiled. "Just keep trying. It's not like me and Kageyama are getting anywhere with the legends either. I think we might have to try a new tactic."

"Fine, I'll keep trying," Hinata sighed. "But Yachi, I swear if it's another boring entry about his Transfiguration homework, I'm figuring out a way for you to watch it just so you can see how boring it is!"

With that, Hinata pulled out the diary and turned to the latest entry. "April 21, 1938."

The word appeared on the page and Hinata bent down to read it before Kageyama hit him lightly on the shoulder.

"Can you at least turn that way or something when you read it," Kageyama asked gruffly. "It's creepy when you're face goes all blank like that."

"Rude, Kageyama," Hinata complained, but obligingly turned away from the group to face the broad view of the Hogwarts' lake.

 _Dear Future Descendants,_

 _Good news! Professor Ukai gave me an O on my Transfiguration homework so that should still put me in the top ten in my year. Father will no doubt ask why I'm not at the very top but I should be able to placate him fairly easily with my Potions score._

 _In other news, my roommate-I suppose I should start calling him Ichiro-and I have come to a...mutually beneficial arrangement, for lack of a better word._

 _It should help both of us-which is, of course, the Slytherin way. Either way, it should make my rooming situation easier._

 _I'll show you. But remember, future descendants, despite early appearances, I assure you that I had everything under control._

Hinata barely had time to frown in confusion before the dizzy-blurry-falling-but-not-falling feeling started and around him the Transfiguration hallway formed.

Blinking, Hinata glanced around and looked for Hisashi before the boy himself walked through Hinata-his image scattering like smoke before reforming at Hinata's other side.

Hisashi continued down the hallway unaware, muttering and with an annoyed expression on his face...which, Hinata had learned, wasn't exactly an uncommon expression for the Slytherin.

"Hey, Noroi, where you running off to so fast," came a loud voice followed by a large sneering Gryffindor, who Hinata estimated to be at least a third year.

Hisashi twisted around and glared. "Bugger off back to those transfigured trolls you call Housemates, Goto! I'm not in the mood to deal with you today."

The Gryffindor-Goto-didn't seem to like that too much, bounding down the hallway with an increasingly angry expression.

"Might want to mind your tone, Noroi," Goto spit out. "Your daddy's not here to protect you at Hogwarts." Goto took a step closer, looming over the first year. "Of course, from what I hear, your family's gotten so weak, he couldn't protect you _outside_ of Hogwarts either."

"Shut up!" Hisashi snarled. "You don't know what you're talking about!"

Goto laughed meanly. "Ha, maybe I don't. After all, I wanted to talk to you about how your _father's_ little speech he made at the Ministry against my father's campaign for Minister. Want to talk about that, little Noroi?"

Hisashi huffed, putting on a haughty expression; but, Hinata was close enough to see how he swallowed nervously. "Please, your father wanted to add goblins to the Wizamagot. _Goblins!_ He'd destroy our traditions. Someone like that could never be Minister."

Hinata blinked and suddenly Goto's wand was held against Hisashi's throat.

"Now, what did I tell you about watching your tone, Noroi," Goto asked, pressing the wand in.

Hisashi's eyes grew wide and then-

" _Petrificus Totalus!"_

Goto hit the ground hard, his wand still clenched in a frozen hand.

Both Hinata and Hisashi looked up to see Ichiro standing further down the hall, wand raised.

Slowly as Hisashi watched, Ichiro lowered his wand and gave his roommate a wry smile.

"He was probably right about minding your tone," Ichiro said dryly. "It really _will_ get you in trouble one day."

With that, Ichiro casually walked passed Hisashi and continued down the hall.

Hisashi spluttered for a second before finally, the situation caught up with and he ran to catch up to Ichiro.

"Hey, wait! You can't just walk away after that!" Hisashi shouted, bounding down the hall until he caught up and matched Ichiro's pace. Hinata walked along behind them.

"I don't see why not," Ichiro said with a shrug. "It's not a big deal. It looked like you needed help and I-for whatever reason-didn't want my roommate in the Hospital Wing. Forget it."

"I can't just forget it," Hisashi argued hotly. "And it is _so_ a big deal."

Ichiro glanced in Hisashi's direction before turning back and shaking his head. "It's really not. I just don't like bullies. Don't read too much into this."

"I have to," Hisashi said, stomping his foot and grabbing Ichiro's shoulders to bring them both to a halt. "You don't understand because you're…" Hisashi glanced around the hall before lowering his voice, "you know."

"Muggleborn," Ichiro said warily.

"Exactly," Hisashi agreed and, for once, it didn't seem to be out of scorn. "Here in the wizarding world when someone helps out a prominent wizarding family-especially in things like duels-then that family owes them a debt. It's tradition!"

Ichiro raised an eyebrow. "First, I wouldn't call that a duel-more like you about to be pounded into the castle walls. Second, family debts? That's archaic."

Hisashi glared. "It's family pride! You have to accept it!"

"Sure, you don't want to just let it pass? What do these debts normally entail?" Ichiro asked, letting out a sigh.

For the first time in the conversation, Hisashi hesitated with his brow furrowing in thought. "Normally, it's political favor, but I supposed we're a bit too young for that."

"You think," Ichiro said sardonically.

"Money, then," Hisashi suggested.

Ichiro's face scrunched up. "No, I don't want your charity."

"It's not charity, it's a debt," Hisashi insisted

"Well, I don't want it."

"Fine," Hisashi huffed. "Then, what do you want?"

"For you to drop this?"

"No!"

Ichiro sighed again, face finally taking on a contemplative edge.

"Alright, I thought of something," Ichiro said eventually, a gleam in his eyes.

"What is it," Hisashi prompted cautiously.

"Don't worry," Ichiro reassured dryly. "You'll like this one, I think...I want you to each me about being pureblood."

"What?" Hisashi and Hinata said at roughly the exact same time.

"Teach me," Ichiro repeated. "You told me I shouldn't let people know I'm a muggleborn. And from everything I've seen you're right cause all the muggleborns I've seen are treated terribly here….But, I still don't know hardly anything about the Wizarding World. You do and I need a friend I can trust to explain to be what the bloody Floo Network is."

"Noroi's don't have friends," Hisashi replied automatically.

Ichiro rolled his eyes. "Fine. An ally or whatever you want to call it in stuck up pureblood language. Deal?"

"You want to be my ally," Hisashi asked, tone sounding oddly vulnerable for all his face didn't show it.

"Well, I need help and I figure you aren't the _worst_ person in our House," Ichiro paused, "Maybe the fifth worst….Anyway, do we have a deal or not?"

Hisashi hesitated and then...finally...stuck out his hand.

"Deal."

"Good." Ichiro smiled, returning the hand shake.

The boys stood silently for a moment before Hisashi shook his head and started down the hall again, Ichiro and an unseen Hinata at his side.

"Since we're allies, the _first_ thing I'm going to teach you is calligraphy. Your handwriting's _atrocious_. Honestly, who taught you how to cut a quill."

Ichiro huffed. "Believe it or not, some people actually live like we're not in the Middle Ages."

The memory blurred suddenly, cutting off Hisashi's reply and Hinata quite suddenly found himself back at the Rune's tower and frowning.

Beside him, Yachi noticed. "Hinata? Are you out of the memory?"

"Yeah," Hinata answered slowly, looking down to see Hisashi's ending note.

"What's wrong," Yachi asked, leaning over his shoulder. "Did you find something about the Chamber of Secrets?"

Hinata shook his head. "No, it's not that…"

"What is it, then" Kageyama prompted, restlessly.

Hinata shook his head, still looking down at the diary. "Just...just something unexpected."

 _ooooooo_

"If you got a mystery, you wanna make history. Call on the Investigators' Club. If you gotta problem, we're the ones who solve 'em. Call on the Investigators'-"

"No." Oikawa said flatly. "I draw the line at theme songs."

"But, it's catchy!" Bokuto complained.

Night at Hogwarts found the five members of the self-titled Investigators Club at their usual library table.

" _Anyway,_ " Oikawa moved on. "Let's look at what we've got?"

"Two mysterious pertifications," Kuroo answered, counting down on his hand. "One creepy message, one legend about a Slytherin monster, and zero clues on who's behind it. Am I missing anything?"

"There's the part about the Chamber of Secrets, too," Iwaizumi commented.

"Oh, right," Kuroo said. "And one mysterious chamber hidden somewhere in Hogwarts. Cause we needed one of those after the whole Sora mess last year."

"So, we've got three questions," Oikawa concluded, pulling out a piece of parchment. "Number one, what's the monster. Number two, where's the Chamber of Secrets. Number three, who's the Heir."

In big letters, he scribbled the questions on the paper as he listed them.

"We don't even know if the Heir of Slytherin is behind it," Suga added quickly. "That's just a legend. The Heir could not even exist."

Oikawa nodded and changed the third question to _who's the Heir/ person behind petrifications_.

"There," Oikawa said. "Though, I think with both the eerie connection to an old legend _and_ the message on the wall that basically admitted it, we should probably look into the Heir lead."

"If we're going that route," Kuroo commented, "we need to change question number one to add in other causes of petrification."

Oikawa dutifully changed it to _what's the monster/ spell/ potion petrifying people._

"Anything else," Oikawa asked.

"There's a fourth question," Iwaizumi said, looking down at the paper. "Why is this happening now?"

"Good point." Oikawa added the fourth question. "So, we got questions for the who, the what, the where, and the when. We still don't know anything about the why."

Bokuto frowned. "We know the why, right? The Heir wants to get rid of the muggleborns. That's what it said on the message."

"But why attack Mori and Mananda specifically out of all the muggleborns in the entire school," Oikawa asked. "What's the connection. Plus, why petrification? It's not like it's a common thing."

"Not to mention," Kuroo said before hesitating. "I mean petrifications not exactly a permanent solution either. If the Heir guy is crazy enough to attack a professor, why do it in a way that'll be fixed by the end of the year?"

"Morbid," Bokuto shuddered.

Under the _who_ question, Oikawa wrote _Mananda and Mori: What's the connection?_ And then added _why petrification_ under the first question on causes.

Suga hummed. "If you think about it, even the muggleborn theory doesn't hold that much weight. Mori's a muggleborn but Mananda's a pureblood."

"Still," Kuroo argued. "If the Heir's one of those blood fanatics, both would be targets. Mori's a muggleborn. And the Giant's Ghosts hated squibs almost as much as Muggles. Having a near squib teach at Hogwarts would have definitely ticked people off."

"But squibs still wouldn't be the main targets," Suga said. "The main targets would be….well…"

"Muggleborns," Oikawa answered, face expressionless. "So like Mori but not like Mananda."

Suga nodded.

"Us so called 'blood traitors' would also make good targets, I guess," Kuroo shrugged, pointing between him and Bokuto. "The Ghosts weren't too keen on wizards 'turning their backs on tradition' either."

Iwaizumi huffed. "What I don't get is how he knew Mananda was almost a squib? I mean before he was petrified _no one_ knew. And he's one of the top magical researchers alive, it's not like anyone would've guessed either?"

"Heh, maybe the Heir didn't know and just wanted a break from Mananda's teaching," Bokuto said, giving a lopsided grin.

"You think the Heir somehow knew beforehand about Mananda's magic," Oikawa tilted his head, "...or Mananda's wasn't attacked because of that?"

Iwaizumi shrugged. "I'm just saying it's weird."

The group fell into a contemplative silence, each looking down at the four questions.

"So, how do we want to go about researching this," Kuroo asked. "Last year, with Sora, we just went off him being a creep and some newspaper articles. This time we've got practically zilch that's not a millennia or so old."

Oikawa waved a hand at Kuroo. "Can your magical psychic senses tell us anything like last time?"

Kuroo rolled his eyes. "They're not 'magical psychic senses'. I'm not even a full Legilimens like Mom. All I get is some vague vibes and so far no one is vibing that they want to turn me into a living statue." Kuroo's lip quirked up. "Or, at least, no more than usual."

Oikawa stuck out his tongue. "Useless psychic senses! Fine, then let's go through this the old fashioned way."

"Which is," Suga asked cautiously.

"Divide and conquer," Oikawa answered. "We split up the questions and then can swap them around as we go and rely on some good old trusty library research. Who wants to work on which question first?."

"I call question three," Bokuto yelled, raising his hand. "I want to figure out who the Heir is and kick his ass!"

"We don't know it's the Heir," Suga said softly.

"I'll work with Bokuto," Kuroo announced. "Between the two of us we should have a pretty good handle on all the major wizarding families."

"I'll take question four on the timing," Iwaizumi said. "I'll see if there's any reason why this year would be special." He shrugged. "Gotta admit though that one might be a dead end until we figure out who's behind it."

Oikawa looked at Suga. "Okay, you want finding the Chamber or causes of petrification?"

Suga frowned, looking thoughtful. "I'll take the Chamber. If nothing else, I can learn more about the history and hopefully find out how it all relates to the petrifications...if it even does, I mean."

Oikawa nodded. "Alright, awesome, I'll take causes of petrification then and let's see if we can find anything."

Kuroo let out a laugh. "Not like the _entire school_ is trying to find out, too."

"Yes, but they're not us," Oikawa countered, smirking.

"Exactly," Bokuto boomed, slamming a hand on the table. "Cause we're...the Investigators' Club!"

ooooooo

A/N: As always, thanks for your support!

Next Chapter: Perfect Matches


	11. Perfect Matches

This...was one of the most awkward lunches of Oikawa's life. Ranking only somewhere better than the lunch where his parents told him they were getting a divorce-at least then he was three and got ice cream after!

Though to be fair, ice cream may not be off the table for this lunch either; Oikawa _had_ planned to take his date to Honeydukes after lunch. But, now, he was just wondering if maybe he should take Nametsu- _Mai,_ as she insisted-back to the castle early and finally put them out of the misery of stilted small talk.

It wasn't even that anything had gone _wrong_. The food was alright, the weather was pleasant, and Mai Nametsu seemed sweet-but more in a way that Oikawa felt like she'd be a great school project partner, not in a way that Oikawa felt a strong desire for her company.

And that really boiled down to the main problem-once, they had run through the normal gambit of opening questions, they had _nothing_ to talk about. So, instead they both sat in an uncomfortable silence until one of them occasionally braved breaking it.

Oikawa figured it was probably his turn. "So...did you hear the Heir left another message?"

It was a dumb question. More for the purpose of sound than actual curiosity. _Everyone_ had heard that another message had been found. This time just with the ominous " _Mudbloods and Squibs Don't Belong. The Heir Will Make Them Pay."_

"Of course," Mai answered, before shivering. "How awful!"

"Yeah," Oikawa agreed and then, the silence was back.

Somewhere else in the restaurant, someone let out a loud laugh and both Oikawa and Mai glanced over briefly to see two sixth year Hufflepuffs, obviously enjoying their date.

Oikawa wondered when their waitress would be back around so they could pay and get out of here.

Mai coughed. "So, are you worried about the Heir?"

"I think everyone is." Oikawa shrugged.

Mai nodded. "I just meant since you're…" She blushed. "Sorry, I guess you probably don't want to think about this."

Oikawa waved off the apology, leaning back and thinking. "I don't think I'm much more worried than anyone else, honestly."

Probably because, as the only muggleborn in Slytherin, Oikawa had always known there were those in Hogwarts who hated him. His first year alone had made that _perfectly_ clear. Mai's question did make him vaguely wonder how the other Hogwart's muggleborns were dealing with this-not that there was that many.

The waitress finally came back the table and the two quickly paid her and finally got to leave the stifled restaurant table.

"So, ah," Oikawa started. "There's the Hufflepuff-Slytherin match today, if you wanted to go…"

Oikawa figured if nothing else, at least the game would prevent awkward lulls in conversation.

"That would be great," Mai agreed immediately, sounding slightly relieved. "My friends were planning on going, too."

"If you'd rather sit with your friends," Oikawa suggested before realizing that might not be what meant. "Or _we_ could sit with them, I guess…"

Mai gave a small smile and looked back at Oikawa. "You know you're a really great guy. Thanks for agreeing to go on this date with me."

"I've had fun," Oikawa blatantly lied.

Mai laughed. "No, you haven't."

Oikawa opened his mouth to deny it but this time, Mai waved him off. "No, it's really fine. We just don't have much in common, I guess." She leaned up and kissed his cheek briefly, blushing. "I'm still really glad we gave it a try. I'd...I'd be kicking myself if I didn't; but, um, if you don't mind….I think I'll catch up with my friends at Honeydukes now."

Oikawa smiled ruefully and nodded. "Yeah, that'll, ah, probably be for the best. Thanks for the date."

Mai waved, starting down the street. "I guess...better luck next time...for both of us! Have fun at the game!"

And then, she walked away and Oikawa was left in the middle of the street with the odd urge to laugh.

He was right. Mai was sweet...just, not like a girlfriend.

Oikawa started down the street in the opposite direction of Mai, before finally arriving at the Three Broomsticks. He walked in, glancing around the room until he finally landed on a small table where Iwaizumi and Suga already sat.

"Hey," Iwaizumi greeted as Oikawa grabbed the third seat. "Didn't expect to see you this early. How'd the date go?"

"Oh, it was a disaster," Oikawa grinned, already feeling more relaxed than he had all afternoon.

"Then, why are you smiling," Iwaizumi asked, bumping his shoulder against him while Oikawa stole his Butterbeer.

Oikawa took a big gulp of Butterbeer before answering. "Because...I think it was the good kind of disaster."

Iwaizumi and Suga both gave him weird looks but Oikawa only laughed again.

ooooooo

High on the library ladder, Yachi stretched on the tip of her toes, her fingers just brushing the spine.

Bracing and reminding herself not to look down, she tried to will her fingers to go just...a bit...almost...and...Got it!

The spine fell just in her hand at the same second as the ladder creaked under her and her foot slipped.

"EEeeeppp!"

" _Levicorpus!"_

Her descent stopped suddenly, barely a meter off the ground, and Yachi looked up to see her savior.

Kiyoko Shimizu, Ravenclaw fourth year and the resident library assistant, smiled at her with her usual calm expression.

"Oh my gosh!" Yachi yelped. "Thank you so much! I thought I was going to die!"

"Of course," Shimizu said, gently lowering Yachi to the ground until Yachi sat against the bookshelf, breathing heavily.

"Sorry," she said in between gasps. "I'm just _really_ scared of heights."

Shimizu hummed softly. "I remember, what made you climb all the way up there?"

Yachi blushed. "Oh...I...ah, just saw a book on early Hogwarts building plans that I've been looking for _all day_ so…"

"Looking into the Chamber of Secrets then," Shimizu asked. "We've had a lot of students here looking through the legends section, but not many go directly to the history section."

"Yeah," Yachi agreed, blush deepening. "It's probably pointless, I doubt I'll find anything with so many people looking for it…"

"I didn't mean it like that," Shimizu interrupted softly, adjusting her glasses. "I think you probably have a better chance than most."

"Really," Yachi asked, looking up at the calm, collected older girl.

Shimizu nodded. "You're one of the smartest students in the school."

Yachi wondered if someone could actually spontaneously combust from blushing alone.

"T-thanks, Shimizu," Yachi finally managed.

Shimizu reached down, offering her a hand. "Of course, and please call me Kiyoko."

"Alright," Yachi agreed shyly. "Thanks again...um, Kiyoko."

Shimizu-ah, Kiyoko nodded again before heading back in the direction her library desk.

Yachi let out a stuttered breath right before Kiyoko threw one last look back at Yachi.

"Oh, I almost forgot to wish you luck," Kiyoko smiled. "Do your best, Hitoka!"

Kiyoko finally turned down the hall and Yachi clutched her book to her chest, not even bothering to hide her wide smile.

ooooooo

"And, again, you're absolutely 1,000% _sure_ you're good," Bokuto checked.

Standing in the changing room, Hinata huffed, impatiently swapping his broom between one hand and the other.

" _Yes,_ " Hinata insisted. "I told you guys I'm _fine._ Quit worrying!"

Kageyama punched him in the arm. "Of course, we're going to worry, Dummy. Last time we played Slytherin, their Beater put you in the Hospital Wing for months."

"That guy graduated already," Hinata muttered obstinately.

Futakuchi shrugged. "So? Slytherin's Quidditch team is still filled with a bunch of dicks."

Bokuto nodded. "So, again, guys, what's the plan?"

"Beaters focus primarily on protecting the Chasers," Futakuchi answered and Aone nodded.

Hinata rolled his eyes. "I focus on dodging wide rather than the close up _despite_ that it's less effective and I know I could outfly their Beaters."

Kageyama punched his arm again. "I focus on throwing so Hinata can dodge wide."

"End the game quickly," Mad Dog growled shortly.

Bokuto nodded. "And, Hinata, if they're giving you any trouble like last time?"

"Signal for a time out," Hinata sighed.

"Even if it only a really, really _little_ thing?"

Hinata glared. "But-"

"Hinata…"

"Signal for a time out," Hinata muttered.

Bokuto beamed and started leading the team to the field

"Oh," Bokuto paused, looking towards Hinata. "And if that fails, just hide behind Aone!"

Hinata was about to protest but Aone laid a large comforting hand on his shoulder, catching his attention and holding him up.

Hinata looked up questioningly at Hufflepuff's resident quiet giant.

"It's for them," Aone said shortly before giving one of his small rare smiles and patting Hinata gently on the head.

Hinata frowned, glancing around at the team-now all starting to the field. There was a nervous energy surrounding the Hufflepuff team today. One that seemed strange since all the estimates showed Hufflepuff winning big against Slytherin's still rebuilding team. It didn't really make any sense to Hinata until he noticed how everyone, even Mad Dog, kept casting quick darting glances at Hinata as they readied to fly.

 _It's for them_ , Hinata thought again ruefully, remembering that he never really _did_ get the full story of what happened at last year's game after he'd been carried unconscious from the field. He vaguely thought Yachi had said something like, "it was terrifying."

Hinata sighed, more resigned than annoyed now.

Well, he supposed that if it was for the team, he could maybe play it a little safer...at least for a bit.

ooooooo

"Mission Reconnaissance Test One," Noya reported, zeroing in with his Omnioculars. "Subject spotted."

Yamaguchi frowned, leaning over in the stands to try to follow Noya's line of sight-which was focused on the opposite stands rather than the Quidditch match

"What are you looking at," Yamaguchi asked. "What subject? The Seekers are both up there."

Noya shook his head. "We're not here for the Seekers."

"But isn't that what you told Daichi," Asahi questioned. "And then you and Tanaka insisted that the rest of us _all_ had to come to help you catch them?"

Tanaka leaned forward, taking the Omnioculars from Noya and focusing them on the same place. "Nah, we've already got plenty of stuff on Mad Dog and Slytherin's new Seekers still learning the basics."

"Then, why exactly are we here," Tsukishima demanded.

"It's Quidditch, Tsukishima!" Noya shouted. "Besides, don't you want to support your House team?"

Tsukishima snorted. "You've met my House team, right? Of course, I don't."

Tanaka barked out a laugh. "Fair. Anyway we're not here _just_ for Quidditch."

"Then what are you…" Ennoshita began suspiciously before his eyes widened. "Oh, Merlin, you aren't!"

"Exactly," Noya nodded. "We're gathering intel on Daichi's crush! For Plan Woo Daichi's Crush And Get Him A Date, or P-W-D-C-A-G-H-A-D for short."

"That's not short," Tsukishima said. "And that's a terrible name."

Noya rolled his eyes. "Well, what would you know about names? None of you guys have even suggested a name for our group."

"Still need to work on that," Tanaka remarked absently.

Ennoshita glared. "It think what we _should_ be focusing on is how Daichi specifically banned us from ever helping with his date and is going to _kill_ us if he finds out what we're doing."

"So, you don't want to help Daichi," Noya asked.

"How mean, Ennoshita," Tanaka added.

Yamaguchi hummed. "You really think we could help him?"

"No, Yamaguchi," Tsukishima groaned. "Don't you start, too. Then, we'll never get out of this.

Yamaguchi laughed. "Well, I mean it's not like watching the Sugawara guy from the other side of the Quidditch stands will hurt much, right?"

Noya slung an arm around his shoulder. "Once again, Yamaguchi is the voice of reason."

"Of course, reconnaissance is just step one," Tanaka reminded.

Asahi shook his head, leaning back in the stands with a small smile. "Forget the Heir of Slytherin; Ennoshita's right, Daichi's going to kill us."

ooooooo

Kageyama surveyed the field slowly, paying close attention to make sure none of the Slytherin players were flying too close to Hinata.

So far the game had been...well, kind of boring actually. Or at least as boring as something as wonderful as Quidditch could be.

The Slytherin's were still suffering from two of their best players, including the captain, having graduated last year and Hufflepuff was already ahead by seventy at just the thirty minute mark.

Really, the only thing holding Hufflepuff up was that the Slytherin team had noticed how antsy Hufflepuff got whenever they flew too close to Hinata, so were now flying closer in feints that did nothing to stop Hinata from scoring but was keeping the rest of them on edge.

Kageyama was adapting by throwing safer and safer throws which-while obviously slightly annoyed-Hinata was so far accepting without complaint.

Gritting his teeth, Kageyama threw the Quaffle wide out of the range of any of the Slytherin Beaters though at the cost of a significant amount of speed.

Hinata tilted on his broom to catch it, easily outpacing the Slytherin Chasers, and scoring another goal.

Easy throws or not, there was still always something exhilarating about setting up a throw and watch Hinata score off it. A kind of heart racing serenity that Kageyama had never found anywhere else.

Slytherin threw the Quaffle back into play and made it to the goal-Hufflepuff's Beaters still set up to defend their Chasers-before Bokuto caught the Quaffle right before it went through the right hoop and tossed it back to Koki.

A sharp burst of the whistle blew, signalling Slytherin's time out.

Kageyama and the rest of the Hufflepuff team landed back on the field.

"Great job, guys," Bokuto cheered. "Beaters, good defense! Kageyama, nice wide throws! Hinata, nice job not getting injured!"

Hinata rubbed the back of his neck. "I...uh, thanks?"

"What do you think they're talking about," Futakuchi asked, glancing at the Slytherin team's huddle.

Bokuto shrugged. "Not sure and no use worrying about it now. If it's a problem, we'll use a time out of our own. Mad Dog, what's their Seeker like?"

"New," Mad Dog answered shortly.

Bokuto nodded. "Think you can end the game soon?"

"Depends on the Stitch," Mad Dog replied. "Shouldn't be hard beating their Seeker, just need to spot it first."

"Alright," Bokuto turned back to the rest of the team. "So, everybody, just...keep doing what you're doing and let's end this without anyone in the Hospital Wing!"

The team nodded and Professor Oiwake blew the whistle, signalling the end of the time out.

As soon as they were back in the air, it became immediately apparent what Slytherin's new strategy was going to be. Two of the Slytherin's Beaters and one Chaser were hovering by Hinata-not even making moves to block him in, just looming.

It dragged the entire pitch's attention to the smallest Hufflepuff Chaser-the Hufflepuff team not risking looking away

Kageyama cursed under his breath as the other two Slytherin Chasers used Hufflepuff's distraction to score a goal.

So, that was the plan-focus on Hinata and use Hufflepuff's paranoia to slow them down while the other Slytherins scored. It was slightly underhanded, definitely manipulative, and undeniably effective. In other words, an entirely Slytherin tactic.

In the corner of Kageyama's eye, he saw Hinata waving his hands and trying to get his attention.

Kageyama looked at him and made and tilted his head, miming the time out signal.

Hinata shook his head, instead making a pointed glance down at his own broom where his hands tightened before looking up to Kageyama with a smirk.

Kageyama glared, turning and catching the Quaffle from Koki before turning back to Hinata with a _Don't be an idiot_ look.

Hinata's grin widened.

Kageyama sighed, hoping the rest of the team and Yachi would understand, before throwing his usual breakneck throw directly at the ground below Hinata.

It was insane. Hinata was insane and Kageyama should be insane for listening to him in a game where they were already _seventy points_ ahead and didn't need to pull off insane stunts.

But inevitably, Hinata was Hinata and Kageyama was Kageyama and that meant that neither of them could go through a Quidditch game without playing their all, whatever the consequences may be.

Hinata pulled into a ninety degree dive, flying past his Slytherin guard and angled for a collision course to the ground for anyone without Hinata's reflexes.

As it was, Hinata caught the Quaffle a bare seven feet from the ground before zooming up and scoring while everyone else was still recovering from their resulting heart attacks.

Professor Oiwake's whistle sounded and for a second, Kageyama thought Bokuto had called for a time out before the announcer's voice sounded.

"AND RIGHT AFTER AN AMAZING SCORE, HUFFLEPUFF'S SEEKER AND QUIDDITCH'S RESIDENT MAD DOG KENTARO KYOTANI OUTRUNS SLYTHERIN AND CATCHES THE SNITCH, ENDING THE GAME WITH HUFFLEPUFF 230 POINTS AHEAD."

Kageyama breathed a sigh of relief, landing next to the rest of the team, including a peeved looking Mad Dog who was begrudgingly accepting back slaps from the rest of his teammates.

Bokuto spotted Kageyama and Hinata and turned to them with his hands on his hips.

"Guys, what the heck! What happened to playing it safe for the Slytherin team?"

Kageyama and Hinata shared a look before looking back at Bokuto.

"We were," Hinata answered sincerely.

Futakuchi rolled his eyes. "How's almost running yourself into the ground 'playing it safe'"

Hinata tilted his head, confused. "Cause...ah...Kageyama, I'm not going to explain it right, help!"

Kageyama glared, more because he hated being the one to talk than from any real annoyance. "We needed to get Hinata away from the Slytherins."

Hinata nodded. "Yeah! Exactly!"

Futakuchi opened his mouth, closed it, frowned, and tried again. "Wait, so, let me get this straight. You knew everyone was worried that Hinata was going to get hurt by Slytherin, so you decided to get Hinata away from them, right?"

Hinata and Kageyama nodded.

"And the way you decided to do that," Futakuchi continued. "Was to pull off an even _more insane_ dive that if it failed, would've almost definitely hurt Hinata worse than the Slytherins?"

"But, the dive's Quidditch," Kageyama protested and when everyone still looked confused, Hinata took over.

"We knew I could do the dive, we didn't know what Slytherin was planning and we knew everyone was worried and going to be distracted," Hinata explained.

Futakuchi shook his head in amazement. "You two are insane. Bokuto, this is your fault! Your insanity rubbed off on our Catchers."

Bokuto laughed, reaching forward and grabbing both Hinata and Kageyama in a move that was half a hug and half a stranglehold. "You two are the best!"

He turned back to the team with a grin. "Everyone, change and let's get back to the common room. We've got a win to celebrate!"

The team all gave answering yells and followed Bokuto back to the Hufflepuff changing room.

As soon as they finished, Yachi caught up to Hinata and Kageyama out in the hall.

"Congratulations," she yelled, reaching out to hug them both before pulling back and giving them a stern look. "Also, if I get grey hairs before I turn thirteen, it'll be your fault."

Hinata laughed. "Come on, Yachi! You knew we could pull off that dive!"

"That doesn't mean I thought you'd try it _in this game_ ," Yachi defended, sheepishly holding up a book. "I might've screamed and thrown my book-it almost hit poor Akaashi."

"Yeesh, Yachi," Hinata said, hefting her book up. "This thing weighs a ton! How do you even lift it? Not to mention, throw it at Akaashi?"

"I didn't throw it _at him_ ," Yachi corrected. "I threw it around him. He's fine, it didn't even hit him."

"What's it on," asked Kageyama, looking down at the cover. "I thought we were still going through legends."

"We are," Yachi reassured. "But, I had an idea earlier in the library that if the Chamber of Secrets was ever actually built, then there'd be some record of construction, right? So," she said, taking the book back from Kageyama, "a book on early Hogwarts architecture."

"Huh," Hinata said, tilting his head. "But if it's the Chamber of _Secrets_ then why would they write stuff about building it...you'd think it be, you know, secret."

"True," Yachi admitted. "And you're probably completely right, but...well, it's not like we have much to go and I thought that maybe I could find something by looking at where they _didn't_ build and see if there's any connection." She sighed. "The bigger problem is that they didn't record everything so finding a good timeline is nearly impossible. It's not like there's any single historian who wrote down all of it."

Hinata gave her a sympathetic look but Kageyama just frowned.

"Does it have to be a historian," Kageyama asked.

Yachi shook her head. "No, I'm trying to find diaries of the Headmasters and Headmistresses, too to see if they mention anything."

"Why not just ask the Founders then," Kageyama said with a shrug. "They'd probably know."

"The Founders…" Yachi started slowly.

"Yeah," Kageyama nodded, "Their statues are still with the Founder's Treasure, right?"

He glanced down to see both Hinata and Yachi were both staring at him.

"What," Kageyama asked, annoyed. "Quit looking at me like that."

"Kageyama," Hinata said, smiling suddenly. "You're a genius!"

ooooooo

A/N: Thanks for all your support!

Next Chapter: Helpful Friends


	12. Helpful Friends

"Aww, Iwa-chan, you're worried about me," Oikawa teased, giving him a wide grin that Iwaizumi correlated with a rise in blood pressure.

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. "Yeah, cause someone in the school leaving threatening messages to muggleborns is definitely not worrying _at all._ "

"Pft, I'll be fine," Oikawa reassured airily. "The more important question is this: is it just me or has Suga been acting strange lately?"

Iwaizumi frowned, thinking back on the behavior of the group's other Slytherin. "...Yeah, I guess now that you mention it, he _does_ seem kind of...twitchier, I guess"

"It's more than just being twitchy," Oikawa said, leaning in to talk privately. "He hasn't been sleeping well either. Trust me, I know a good Illusion Charm when I see one and he _definitely_ should be waking up with a few more bags under his eyes than what's showing. Plus, he keeps zoning out and frowning during class."

"What do you think's wrong," Iwaizumi asked, brows knitting together.

"It's this Heir stuff, it has to be," Oikawa answered. "You know Suga, he's probably thinking himself into a coma worrying about everyone else. And…." Oikawa fidgeted, looking uncomfortable. "I think it might have something to do with his family. He seemed really upset after he got a letter last week-even tore up the room trying to find his homework because he didn't think of a simple Summoning Charm."

"You think his family has something to do with it," Iwaizumi questioned.

"Not directly," Oikawa corrected. "I think it's more just Suga being Suga. It's not enough for him to feel guilty for all the stuff _his_ family's done, he's gotta feel responsible for _all_ fanatical pureblood families."

"That's crazy." Iwaizumi frowned.

Oikawa shrugged. "I know that and you know that, but you know Suga's always been...strange about that kind of stuff."

Iwaizumi starred.

"What," Oikawa asked.

"I know you." Iwaizumi huffed. "You don't bring up any problem without having at least two ideas, so what do you think we should do?"

Oikawa smiled. "I don't think it's anything big. Just subtly remind him that crazy fanatics aren't his responsibility."

"Huh, that's...gentler than your usual plans," Iwaizumi noted. "I was expecting some kind of intervention."

"Nah, no intervention this time." Oikawa hummed thoughtfully. "Though if he doesn't start getting some sleep, I'm drugging his food and _making_ him."

"That sounds more like you..albeit very hypocritical" Iwaizumi paused, right above the stairs that led down to the Potions dungeon. "I'll meet you here after your exam and we can walk down to the Care of Magical Creatures' exam together."

Oikawa raised an eyebrow. "You really _don't_ have walk with me everywhere, Iwa-chan. I'll be fine."

"Shittykawa," Iwaizumi growled. "There's possibly a _monster_ attacking muggleborns, quit being an idiot."

Oikawa laughed. "Don't worry, Iwa-chan. If someone's going to try to kill me in the middle of Hogwarts, it's much more likely to be my fellow Housemates rather than some mythical monster."  
"In what universe, is that supposed to be reassuring?" Iwaizumi glared.  
"The universe where I could disarm them before they even drew their wand." Oikawa smirked, gesturing with his own wand. "Now, stop worrying before your face gets stuck in permanent frown lines."

And with one last wink, Oikawa disappeared down the stairs-leaving Iwaizumi muttering violently about "idiotic friends".

ooooooo

"Yachi, our last exam is in two hours! If we haven't studied enough by now, we're already doomed," Hinata complained as the girl frantically shoved another pile of notes in Kageyama and his direction.

Kageyama grunted in agreement, flipping another page in his book-which was really just the History of Magic textbook which he had stealthily hid an issue of _Quidditch Monthly_ in. Hinata was just waiting for Yachi to catch on and yell at him.

"I know, I know," Yachi agreed, turning through her last Charms essay. "It's just this is such an interesting concept. Do you think Professor Ukai would tell me more about it if I asked him over the break?"

The three of them had agreed to stay at Hogwarts for the winter break in order to sneak back into the Founder's Chamber to talk to the Founders' statues about the Heir of Slytherin. Surprisingly, both Yachi and Kageyama's parents had signed off on their stay rather easily-apparently, Yachi's mother was normally quite busy during the break while Kageyama's father always got maudlin as the time reminded him of his late wife. Both parents were quickly convinced by their children's desire to spend the holiday with their friends instead.

The biggest problem had actually been Hinata convincing his foster sister Natsu, who had been very upset that it would be another few months before her brother would return to the orphanage. Luckily, Hinata had been able to sway the eight year old through a particularly large package of Honeydukes sweets and a promise to write her every other day during the break.

"I'm sure, Professor Ukai will," Hinata said, shrugging. "It's not like they're will be many others to ask."

Unsurprisingly, considering Slytherin's monster on the loose, the three were some of the _only_ that signed up to stay over the break.

"That's true, I guess," Yachi agreed before sighing. "It's sad that so many people are going home this year; I always heard the house elves decorated Hogwarts beautifully for the holidays." Yachi shifted uncomfortably. "There's a rumor was a big fight between Headmaster Ukai and the Hogwarts Board on whether students would even be allowed to stay over break."

"Really," Hinata asked, a cold trickle of fear running down his spine. "You don't think they're going to close the school, do you?"

Beside him, Kageyama had sat down his book and was also looking intently at Yachi.

Yachi bit her lip. "If they don't find out what's happening and more people get petrified, they might have to. The parents would demand it."

"That can't happen," Kageyama said hotly. "We've gotta figure out who the Heir is before they do that."

"Well," Yachi started, trying for a lighter tone. "Hopefully, the statues will know something and we can get this all sorted out by the time everyone gets back."

Hinata nodded and the three fell into a tense silence, each more preoccupied by the Heir than their studying.

The silence was finally broken when Yachi looked up and smiled suddenly, waving at someone behind them. "Look, there's Akaashi."

Hinata glanced up, suddenly stuck by an idea.

"Guys, I'm gotta go talk to Akaashi about...uh, Quidditch," Hinata told them, quickly getting to his feet and eying the library exit where Akaashi had just left. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Kageyama and Yachi both gave him quizzical looks but Hinata ignored them, running out the doorway and looking around the halls to try to spot the third year Ravenclaw.

"Akaashi!" Hinata called, spotting him just before he turned the hall. "Wait up! I gotta ask you something!"

Akaashi stopped, waiting for Hinata to catch up and turning to him with a confused expression. "Hinata?"

"Who's the Heir of Slytherin," Hinata asked, staring at Akaashi with large eager eyes.

"...What," Akaashi said slowly, blinking rapidly as he tried to process Hinata's question. "Why do you think I'd know?"

"Because you're psychic," Hinata said, lowering his voice and glancing around the hallway. "You do know, right?"

Akaashi stiffened, opening his mouth before hesitating. "M-maybe...it's not that simple."

"What do you mean," Hinata demanded. "Akaashi, they're thinking of closing down the school. If you know who it is, you gotta tell someone!"

"I-I can't." Akaashi shook his head. "Trust me, even if I do know who the Heir is, nothing about this is easy. There's a lot more at play here than anyone knows."

Hinata groaned. "Is this about how you can't change the future directly and stuff. Because that's okay, just tell me who it is and then _I'll_ do it. No direct change required."

Akaashi quirked a lip, pulling Hinata into an alcove of the hall. "That's not how this work. That's still _me_ telling you. Besides..." Akaashi sighed, looking down at Hinata with a serious expression. "Remember when I told you that certain things had to happen in an order?"

"Yeah," Hinata replied, remembering back to the confusing conversation at the beginning of the year.

Akaashi nodded. "Well, this is one of those times. I _could_ tell people who the Heir is. I could even give them proof they are the Heir. However," Akaashi grimaced, "if I do that...if people find out too early without other events happening first...then a lot of innocent people would be hurt."

"So, that's it, we can't do anything," Hinata asked, slumping down.

"I didn't say that," Akaashi admitted, frowning slightly. "I...There's a few futures I'm hoping for...ones where this whole mess can get sorted out. But...but they're long shots. Ones where everything before them has to come together perfectly and at the right time."

Akaashi shook his head. "I don't suppose I can just ask you to believe me when I say I'm doing what I can to help?"

"What, Akaashi, of course, I'll believe you," Hinata said, brows coming together. "Why would I not?"

"Because things are going to get a lot harder before anything gets solved," Akaashi admitted.

He quirked a lip up, guiding Hinata out of the alcove and back into the hall. "Besides, you have some reading to do, don't you?"

"Aww, Akaashi," Hinata complained. "Yachi's already had us studying for days!"

"You never know how helpful a book can be," Akaashi answered serenely. "Now, I have to go finish my own studying. See, you after break, Hinata."

Hinata huffed but gave Akaashi a wave, turning back towards the library.

"Oh, Hinata," Akaashi called before Hinata could start off.

"Yeah, Akaashi?"

"Thanks...for believing me."

And with that, the quiet Ravenclaw disappeared down the hall and Hinata shook his head, returning to Yachi and Kageyama back in the library.

"Good talk," Yachi asked, glancing up from the book.

He shrugged. "...Yeah, just not what I expected."

He pulled his bag back up on the table, rooting in it for another book he could turn through before the exam. Instead, his fingers brushed on the diary at the bottom of the bag and he pulled it out giving it a strange look.

"I take it back," Hinata muttered, idly turning over Akaashi's last advice. "Maybe he was more helpful than I thought." He turned up to Yachi and Kageyama. "Hey, if I go through some more of the diary, will you guys get me out before the exam starts?"

"Sure," Yachi agreed. "But, are you sure you don't want to spend it studying?"

Hinata traded an aggrieved look with Kageyama before shaking his head. "Yeah, I'm sure."

He opened the diary, turning to the latest entry. Hisashi had gotten to be more spread out with his entries-with only a couple of boring entries about pureblood garden parties to detail his entire summer.

Hinata had wondered if he would start to write more once he got back in school-now a second year like Hinata himself. And, while there was definitely more entries now, it still wasn't anything close to the number there was in his first year.

Hisashi had accounted in for less free time during the new school year-but Hinata suspected it had more to do with Hisashi being less lonely. Even the tone behind the actual writing was gradually getting more friendly and almost excited.

"February 4, 1939."

 _Dear Future Descendants,_

 _School's going well as usual but, of course, who wants to hear about that? Ichiro finally got down the proper forms of address for the different members of the Wizengamot-no doubt due to my obviously wonderful teaching! But, it gets even better, he even knew enough to correct_ _Ueno_ _when he called Nomura's cousin the First Assistant to the Chief Warlock instead of the Head Junior Assistant! Can you believe it? And Ueno's family has been on the council for years!_

 _I almost included that memory just so you could have the joy of watching Ueno turn bright red and try to grab his wand just before Professor Ukai showed up and gave him detention. Alas, though, something even more interesting happened after that so I've decided to include that memory instead._

 _Descendants, Ichiro and I have decided to make history!_

"Oh my gosh and his _face!_ Did you see his face when Nomura told him that you were right!"

Hinata blinked and found himself thrown sharply right in the middle of a memory-the images rushing to come together until Hinata could clearly see the Slytherin boys dormitory.

Both Hisashi and Ichiro were sprawled on Ichiro's perfectly made bed; Hisashi was still in the middle of laughing while Ichiro looked more subdued but his mouth was definitely turned up in amusement.

"And all I had to do was learn those bloody fifty variations of address," Ichiro said, rolling his eyes.

" _See_ ," Hisashi said smugly. "And you asked me why they were important."

"Silly me, I should've known the answer was 'to piss people off.'" Ichiro snorted. "It's a good thing Professor Ukai showed up before Ueno actually did curse us, though."

"Oh, please," Hisashi scoffed. "Ueno may be powerful but he has the slowest reaction time I've ever seen. We could've taken _turns_ countering them and still had time to disarm him before he realized what was going on."

"You're probably right," Ichiro admitted, laughing softly.

"I'm always right," Hisashi rolled up on his knees and to a sitting position, leaning on the end post of the bed. "Seriously, though, I've only been helping you out for a few months and you already know enough to show _Ueno_ what it means to really be a proper pureblood."

Ichiro scratched the back of his neck idly. "I only know about areas you've already taught me though. It's still nothing close to actually being raised in it."

Hisashi huffed. "What we really need is more application. Find some place where we can really immerse you in all of it and see how you do."

Ichiro leaned back on the headboard, looking resigned. "Pretty sure they save those kind of things for the _actual_ purebloods, Hisashi."

"True…" Hisashi sighed. "Too bad, even something less formal like the Ministry's New Year's Eve Party would work." Hisashi's brow furrowed. "Father was sick again for it this year."

Ichiro kicked lightly at Hisashi's leg, bringing his attention back. "Yeah, I'm sure the party would go great...until they put the pieces together and realized I was a muggleborn so most of the guest could shun me for the night." Ichiro grimaced. "And that's not even mentioning when our House found out."

" _If_ they found out you were muggleborn," Hisashi muttered obstinately. "With my training, you know more than your average halfblood already."

Ichiro rolled his eyes before closing them, relaxing again against the headboard.

"What if…." Hisashi started, more to himself than Ichiro. "What if they didn't have to find out."

"All it would take was someone asking around and finding out no one had ever heard of my last name," Ichiro replied, not bothering to open my eyes. "Not to mention, if anyone actually did the work to trace me back to my orphanage."

"It wouldn't be as hard as you think," Hisashi argued, brow furrowing in thought. "Small branches of pureblood families immigrate all the time. The right words in the right ears...along with the assurance of a prominent enough family...and everyone's scrambling to prove that _of course, they've heard of that family_...just so they don't look uniformed."

Sometime in Hisashi's speech, Ichiro had opened his eyes and now had a wary expression.

"What are you trying to say, Hisashi," Ichiro asked flatly.

"What if we actually did it," Hisashi said suddenly. "Our House already thinks you're pureblood. What if we really took it further and introduced you as some long lost pureblood family?"

"That's insane," Ichiro said, eyes widening. "Absolutely insane. _Hisashi_ , I just wanted you to teach me all the pureblood stuff so I could survive school. Not because I thought I'd be able to pull it off my whole life."

"But you could, though. I'm sure of it!" Hisashi shot to his feet, pacing around the room. "I _know_ I could teach you enough to do it. Look at what you've already learned. It would only take...a year, maybe two and then...you would definitely know enough to pass at any of the functions."

"And what about later," Ichiro demanded. "Do you really think no one's ever going to look deeper. Never in our entire lives."

"We can handle that after." Hisashi waved away the concern. "There would definitely be...well, _a lot_ more we'd need to do later if we're going to pull this off."

"Stop talking about it like I've already agreed," Ichiro said, grabbing Hisashi and stopping him mid-pace. "I told you, it's insane."

"It's not, though," Hisashi said, slapping away Ichiro hands. "That's what I keep telling you."

Hisashi huffed, seeing the obvious reticence in Ichiro's expression. "Come on, Ichiro, you're supposed to be a Slytherin. Do you really want to settle for being some outcast from the muggle world your whole life or do you actually want to take a chance and actually be respected?"

Ichiro glared, sitting heavily on the bed and shaking his head. "...It'll never work, Hisashi."

Hisashi groaned, rolling his eyes with a distinctively annoyed expression while walking back to his bed. "Well, fine, if you don't want my help, I don't know why I even bothered."

"Why _do_ you want to help," Ichiro asked, turning to his roommate with a perplexed expression. "You hate mudbloods and always go off about pureblood superiority. Why would you help a muggleborn try to pass as pureblood. What's in it for you?"

Hisashi's face crumpled, as if the reality of his idea just occurred to him. "It's just...well, you're…," Hisashi shook his head. "My father and I hate mudbloods because they come in and sully and corrupt our traditions. They didn't even know about the wizarding world for ten years and then they come in and want to change it, dirtying it with their Muggle traditions. It's disgraceful, it's disgusting, it's…" He sighed. "Anyway, the point is that _you're_ not like that. You understand that there's a proper way for wizards to behave and are trying to learn it."

He glanced up, meeting Ichiro's eyes. "It's not right that you should have to suffer because of all the other mudbloods when you're so clearly better than they could ever hope to be."

Ichiro laughed, though it sounded too heavy to be truly amused. "I think there was an actual compliment somewhere in there."

Hisashi sniffed disdainfully, sincere expression falling. "Don't take it too seriously. You're my ally, it makes sense I'd want to help you get stronger. Strong allies benefit the entire Noroi name."

"Of course," Ichiro said and this time the tone was amused.

Hisashi threw a pillow at him.

"...I'll do it," Ichiro said abruptly after a moment of silence.

"Do what," Hisashi asked, annoyed.

"If you're really serious about this, then yeah...I'll actually go through with your crazy plan to pass me off as a pureblood." Ichiro shook his head slowly. "Honestly, rooming with you _must_ have eaten away some of my better judgement."

"Really," Hisashi said, bolting up on his bed. "We're actually going to do it."

"As insane as it may be," Ichiro agreed.

"Insane?" Hisashi smiled widely in a way that Hinata felt was immediately familiar even though he couldn't quite place it.

"Please, Ichiro, boldness is the way you make history."

The memory swirled around Hinata and suddenly he found himself out of the book and back in the library, disoriented by light streaming through the windows rather than a dark lake.

Yachi glanced up. "Oh, you're back. Good, it's almost time to go."

"Yeah," Hinata said absently, looking down on the page.

 _Tonight, my descendants, is the start of something incredible. I know it._

 _Superbiam Nunquam Cadere_

 _Hisashi Noroi_

ooooooo

"Just once," Kuroo complained the next morning, "let's agree to meet up sometime _other_ than the crack of dawn the day after we just finished with exams."

Oikawa shrugged, not looking any bit happier at being up. "We tried, remember. But everyone was busy with studying last week, no one wanted miss Gryffindor's End of Exams party last night, and we're all heading back home later today. This morning's the only time that worked."

With that, he leaned over and hit Iwaizumi hard on the arm, as the Gryffindor boy had started to snore loudly.

Suga hummed lightly. "I don't really mind truthfully."

"Morning people," Bokuto said in wonder. "It's like going against nature."

"Alright, alright, I'm up," Iwaizumi grumbled, swatting away Oikawa from continually poking his cheek. "But, I swear if you don't let me sleep on the train, then I'm telling people about the time you were six and-"

"Anyway," Oikawa interrupted, pulling out a piece of parchment from his bag and unrolling it to reveal the questions from last time. "Let's see what we've got. I'll go first with causes of petrification." He pointed down to the first question, _what's the monster/ spell/ potion petrifying people?_

"Anything we didn't already know," Kuroo asked.

"Not much yet." Oikawa grimaced. "I looked into the monster first since that's what's referenced in the legend and the first message mentioned. But, from what I've read so far, there's two problems with it being a creature petrifying people." He pulled out a quill and started to write under the first question. "First, only a few creatures petrify people and most of them don't fit the kind of petrifications we're looking at. The only one I've found that does...is a basilisk."

Bokuto winced. "The giant snake things? I thought they were extinct."

Oikawa nodded. "They pretty much are. And even if they weren't, no way one could survive in the castle without food or being noticed. Also, I mean basklisks are rumored to live awhile but if we're looking at something that's been around since the founding, a thousand years is too long even for a basilisk." Oikawa tapped the quill on the table, before getting more ink. "And then there's the next problem with a monster. If it's a creature, how's the Heir controlling it? Especially, enough to _only_ attack people the Heir wants it to."

"So, probably not a creature then," Suga concluded. "What about potions or spells?"

"That I'm still sorting through," Oikawa admitted. "It's definitely not any of the ones that are well known-none of the symptoms fit. I think I'm going to start sorting through descriptions of ancient spells and potions to see if I can find anything there. Of course, that's assuming the Heir didn't just create his own spell and that's what he means by 'monster'."

"Well, that's terrifying," Kuroo said bluntly. "At least, if they're using an old dark spell, we might find an easier way to counter it. New spells are tricky."

Oikawa inclined his head in agreement. "Anyway, that's what I've got. Who's next?"

"I'll go." Iwaizumi said, pulling out some notes. "I had the question on why it's happening now and so far I've got nothing. Nothing from the _Daily Prophet_ about significant pureblood movements, nothing big for muggleborns either. No new changes around Hogwarts this year. Roughly same number of muggleborn and pureblood students from the new class. So, basically," Iwaizumi shrugged. "Just nothing. Heck, from the sound of it, the biggest news story of last year was Sora getting arrested and the Founder's Treasure being recovered."

"Maybe it's that," Kuroo suggested. "Maybe finding the Founder's Treasure set off some kind of chain reaction with the Chamber of Secrets. I mean the legend says the Chamber of Secrets was created because Salazar Slytherin threw some kind of fit while they were trying to make the Founder's Treasure."

The room paused, thinking.

"That makes sense more than anything else," Oikawa said eventually. "Still doesn't help us figure out who the Heir is though. I guess we can try to find out more when we're looking into the Chamber of Secrets legends."

"That's what I was researching," Suga said before sighing. "Before I start my part, I just want to remind everyone that we should still consider options outside of the whole Heir business. We don't even know for sure if the Chamber of Secrets is involved."

"Yeah, yeah, keep an open mind and consider all the options," Bokuto chimed in. "Now, come on and tell us what you found."

Suga nodded, grimacing. "That said. The legend behind the Chamber of Secrets does fit disturbingly well with the current petrifications."

Pulling out a large and obviously old book, Suga continued. "Of course, different legends put different spins on it-more purebloods particularly painting him as more of a martyr-the basic legend goes like this. Sometime after Hogwarts' founding, Salazar Slytherin broke with the rest of the founders over allowing muggleborns into the school. Eventually, the split got so bad that Slytherin pulled out of creating the Founders' Treasure with the others and created his own Chamber of Secrets purportedly for those 'truly worthy.'" Suga sighed, rubbing his temples as if dealing with a particularly annoying headache. "He also warned the other founders that his Heir would one day come back to take _all_ of Hogwarts and that any that stood in their way would be 'frozen and laid stiff' by the might of Slytherin's monster."

"Charming," Kuroo said flatly. "I don't suppose he also included something like a map to Chamber, did he?"

Suga smiled ruefully. "Well, it couldn't be that easy."

"So," Oikawa said, bumping shoulders with Suga, "our House founder's an asshole. Nice to know, I guess."

"That's what I've got so far," Suga agreed, before turning to Bokuto. "Have you or Kuroo found anything yet?"

"Oh, oh, Kuroo, let me tell it," Bokuto shouted before turning to the group with an expression of exaggerated drama. "Right, me and Kuroo had finding the Heir, so we decided to go about the boring and old fashioned way by looking up old family trees."

"It took forever," Kuroo groaned.

"Yeah." Bokuto nodded before continuing on. "But, get this. Apparently, old Salazar's like great-great-great-great-great grandfather or whatever pissed off these two really powerful witches and they cursed not only him but his entire family tree."

"What was the curse," Iwaizumi asked.

Bokuto shrugged. "No one knows the details. Apparently, it was really hush hush."

"It probably didn't affect his _entire_ lineage," Kuroo put in. "Even a powerful curse has to have some kind of limitations if it wants to last for that long."

"But, then it gets even weirder," Bokuto said excitedly. "According to the old family records, there _isn't_ an Heir of Slytherins. The entire line died out during the Dragon Pox epidemic of the 1600s."

"So, it's definitely _not_ the Heir that's behind this," Suga concluded quickly with maybe a touch of relief. "We should start looking into other options then."

"Hold up," Oikawa said, frowning. "That could just mean the Heir's family decided to stay hidden. That would make sense if they're supposedly cursed, right?"

"It would be incredibly difficult to hide that completely," Suga argued quietly.

"But definitely not impossible," Kuroo responded right back. "Especially for someone as wealthy as the Slytherins were."

"So, all this really means is that we still have no idea who the Heir is and they've probably got a good bit of experience covering their tracks," Iwaizumi summarized.

"Yep," Bokuto replied, popping the 'p'. "But, at least it's something. Especially, if we figure out what the curse is and it's something obvious."

Oikawa groaned. "It's too bad that we don't have something to go on that's not a legend that's been passed down for centuries. I don't supposes anyone has an autobiography from the founders, do they?"

"Your family wouldn't have anything, would they, Bo," Kuroo asked, yawning into his hand.

"Nothing but Hufflepuff's journals." Bokuto shrugged, not noticing how the rest of the group turned to him in shock.

"The what now," Oikawa wanted to know.

"I can't believe I didn't think of that." Suga shook his head.

"How come you didn't mention that _before_ ," Kuroo moaned.

"What are you talking about," Iwaizumi said, looking around to the rest of the group.

For himself, Bokuto just blinked in confusion. "You really think those will help? They've been in the study for like _forever._ They're mostly about gardening and her charm work."

"Do I really think it might help to have a first hand account of the Hogwarts founding that you have _lying around your house_ ," Kuroo asked incredulously. "Yeah, Bo, I think it might."

"Woah, back up," Oikawa said, holding up a hand. "Why do you have the _Helga Hufflepuff's_ journals in your study? Shouldn't those be in like a museum somewhere?"

Bokuto blushed, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "We kind of, um, forgot about them when we donated the rest of the heirlooms. We were going to donate them _eventually,_ I promise."

"How did you get them in the first place," Iwaizumi asked.

"Huh? Oh, they've been in the family for years," Bokuto explained unhelpfully. "Aunt Aina said she didn't have room for them, so Dad picked them up after Great Aunt Fuijiko died."

Suga looked around, noticing Oikawa and Iwaizumi's helpless confusion and decided to put them out of their misery. "Bokuto should've probably mentioned that his family's descended from the main branch of what used to be the Hufflepuff family."

"What," Oikawa yelled.

Bokuto frowned. "I thought everyone knew that. It's not like we keep it a secret or anything."

Kuroo rolled his eyes with a fond expression. "Everyone who grew up in the wizarding world probably knows it, Bo."

"Wait, go back," Oikawa interrupted. "So, you just _happen_ to be related to one of the Hogwarts' founders and you never mentioned it before."

"It's not that important honestly." Bokuto shrugged. "There's a lot more of the Hufflepuff family in Germany and Switzerland. I just come from the main branch that stayed in England. "

"The more important thing," Kuroo put in before Oikawa got derailed again, "is if Bokuto can look through the journals over the break and see if he can find anything?"

"Sure," Bokuto agreed immediately. "I'll get Akaashi to help, too. He's much better at translations spells than me."

Oikawa took a deep breath, centering himself again. "Okay, great. So, unless anyone else wants to reveal they're the secret descendant of Ravenclaw, let's just continuing working on researching the questions we had last time and meet back after the holidays. Deal?"

"Sounds good," Iwaizumi agreed, followed by sounds of general agreement from the rest of the group.

"And look," Kuroo said, standing up and looking at his watch. "Still enough time to pack, take a nap, _and_ still be on the train an hour early."

"I packed this morning," Suga admitted, earning an eye roll from Oikawa.

"Honestly, Suga," Oikawa began. "I've shared a room with you for four years and I still don't think I've ever seen you sleep in. You're not human."

Suga laughed, staring out the library door. "That's because you don't go to sleep until the sun's almost up."

"Like a sane, sensible, sleep deprived teenager." Oikawa nodded.

Bokuto yawned loudly, throwing an arm around Kuroo and leaning heavily. "I agree with Oikawa. The night's when all the the fun stuff happens, why waste it sleeping?"

"You don't count, you're practically nocturnal," Kuroo teased, shoving Bokuto's arm off. "And stop putting all your weight on me, I'm as tired as you."

Bokuto pouted. "Abandoned by my friends and right before the holidays. That's so sad."

Iwaizumi huffed, leaning over to let Bokuto throw an arm around him instead. Bokuto beamed brightly.

"So, did _any_ of you finish packing already and have time to grab breakfast with me," Suga asked, eyeing the group critically.

"Nope."

"Definitely not."

"Aww, I forgot about breakfast!"

Iwaizumi shrugged. "Sorry, Suga, there was a party all night in my common room."

"Alright," Suga rolled his eyes, separating from the group and walking in the direction of the Great Hall. "I guess I'll see you on the train then."

The group waved in acknowledgement and Bokuto called out one last "Save me a muffin" before disappearing down the hall.

The Great Hall ended up being mostly deserted-most of the castle still sleeping off Gryffindor's End of Exams Party or just sleeping in on the first day of the holiday break.

Suga quickly gathered a plate and then had to deal with the awkward silence that always came with eating alone. His mind idly traced over the last hour's discussions, a cold dread settling in his stomach.

At least, Kuroo and Bokuto hadn't been able to find anything after his family changed his name in the 1600s. That would've definitely been an awkward conversation.

He didn't know what to do. Part of him wanted to yell and scream and stop his friends from investigating _anything_ about the Heir of Slytherin. Another part of him hoped they'd be able to find something about who was _actually_ attacking people and clear Suga's name-even though he prayed they'd never know that it was his name they were clearing.

Mostly though...mostly, he was just scared. He was scared and worried and each attack, each message, each new rumor felt like it was eating away at him slowly until there'd be nothing left. And then...then, there was the new fear. The one he had thought of a few nights ago and was trying hard to avoid thinking about.

What if the attacks actually _were_ connected to Suga? What if had to do with his family curse-the madness and darkness that festered around his family like a disease. Even if Suga wasn't doing anything, what if it was still his fault?

He know he didn't have anything to do with the messages; but what about the attacks? It was true that he never really liked Mori. Was even scared of him in a vague abstract way tied to how the older boy seemed to despise him. And Mananda? He didn't like his teaching. Granted no one did, but then hadn't Suga also been more hesitant around him than most? He had even thought-for a brief moment and mostly due to his past with Defense teachers-that Mananda was behind the attacks.

What if his friends got hurt because of their connection to him?

What if...what if someone actually _died_ because of the next attack? Because Suga was too busy hiding his own past to help solve the mystery?

Suga just...he just wanted to be able to keep his friends-his first friends who didn't seem to care _at all_ about what kind of family Suga came from. If he could only keep them and no one else got hurt, then everything would be okay.

"Well, that looks like a serious expression, mind if we join you?"

Suga's head jolted up to see a short boy with wild brown hair and a bright grin. Behind him was a small group of Gryffindors-plus curiously, one scowling Slytherin-and Azumane Asahi from Suga's Healing class.

"Oh, um, sure. Go ahead," Suga said, gesturing to the empty bench across from him.

"Great," the boy said, quickly sitting and staring at Suga with an almost unnerving intensity. "I'm Noya by the way. Well, technically Nishinoya-but you can call me Noya since we're going to be friends. That's Tanaka," he pointed at a bald boy, who was frowning in a way that Suga thought was supposed to be intimidating but ended up making Suga fight back a smile. "Those two are Yamaguchi and Tsukishima."

"Pleased to meet you," the shorter freckled boy chirped out while the taller blond just sighed.

"Then, Ennoshita."

A calm looking brunette tilted a smile at Suga. "I am so sorry about this."

"What," Suga asked confused.

"And of course, you know Asahi already," Noya finished.

"Hi, Suga," the taller Gryffindor said, giving Suga a small smile before sitting down on Noya's other side.

"So, anyway, now that you know all of us," Noya continued, "what's got you looking so serious?"

Suga laughed nervously. "Oh...I didn't know I was. Maybe I just have one of those faces."

Noya nodded quickly, pulling out a parchment and a piece of quill seemingly from nowhere. "Well, since you have such a serious face, you're good with us asking you some serious questions, right?"

"Noya," Ennoshita said, warning.

"I suppose," Suga answered hesitantly.

"Right, first question," Noya said eagerly. "Top three characteristics you'd look for in a boyf-I mean friend. Top characteristics in a friend. Go!"

"Er...sorry, what," Suga asked.

"You know what you look for in a friend," Noya said, waving a hand in encouragement.

"Um, kindness…" Suga said, realizing abruptly that his tone sounded a lot more like a question than an answer. "You know just caring about other people...that's always good. And, a sense of humor, I suppose." Did that sound too basic? Wait, why was he even talking about this with a complete stranger?

"What else," Noya prompted, leaning forward over the table with bright eyes.

"Loyalty," Suga said quickly, grappling for the first answer he found. "It's nice to know they'd support me."

Oh, no, Suga really was a terrible friend, wasn't he? Here he was talking about loyalty when he wouldn't even trust his own friends.

"Great," Noya boomed, oblivious to Suga's moral dilemma. "Next question: perfect place for a date...that, ah, you'd suggest to a friend?"

"Smooth," Tsukishima muttered, but Suga ignored them-staring up at them with a sense of realization.

"Wait a minute, you guys are all Daichi's friends, aren't you," Suga asked, faces finally sorting themselves out to match his memories..

"Oh, crap," Tanaka swore while Noya spluttered.

"What, _no_! Of course we're not," Noya denied vehemently, before looking at Suga intently. "Why do you ask? How do you know Daichi? How do you feel about him? Think he's a great guy?"

Suga laughed, heart settling now that he was fairly sure this wasn't some weird interrogation to find out if he was the Heir….it was just a weird something else that he wasn't quite sure about.

"I _know_ you guys are friends with him. You sit with him all the time at meals. He's been my Herbology partner for years," Suga reassured them, turning over the last questions. "Daichi's….Daichi's, um, wonderful. Yeah, I definitely think he's a great guy."

Suga felt himself blush and he wasn't quite sure why.

Possibly because Noya looked like someone just told him Christmas had been moved up a week.

"Really? That's awesome." Noya grinned, taking a deep breath. "Okay, last question: how do you feel about kids?"

Suga blinked, mouth falling open before-

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

A loud voice boomed down the hall followed by a highly annoyed looking Daichi.

"Whelp, great to meet you! Gotta run," Noya said quickly, Asahi already pulling him off the seat while the rest of the group mysteriously disappeared out of the Great Hall.

"HAPPY HOLIDAYS!" Noya shouted one last time, already sprinting to the exit. "REMEMBER, ALWAYS BE OPEN TO LOVE!"

And then, just as abruptly as the conversation started, Suga found himself sitting quietly at the breakfast table with only a peeved Daichi for company.

"Um," Suga started, leaning over to Daichi conspiratorially. "I don't suppose you know what that was about, do you?"

Daichi startled, almost like he'd forgot Suga was still sitting there, before turning to him with a deep flush.

"Oh," Daichi said, voice oddly sheepish. "My friends are just...uh, weird. _Very_ weird. Sorry if they were bothering you."

Suga smiled, gesturing for Daichi to join him at the table. "It's fine. My friends are weird, too."

 _Though maybe not_ that _weird,_ he added mentally.

"They seem nice," Suga politely finished instead.

"Yeah, well, you know friends," Daichi muttered, glaring distractedly at the entrance. "Sometimes, you just want to snap and murder them all."

Suga looked at him alarmed.

"Ack," Daichi spluttered. "I mean that's something _I'd_ do. I mean not do do, just like want to-I mean joke about doing. Definitely, definitely not something I'd actually ever do...because, um, murder's bad?"

Suga managed a wane smile. "...Right."

Daichi sighed in apparent relief. "Yeah, so...I guess I'll let you finish your breakfast now. I just came down to find out why they weren't finishing their packing."

"Oh," Suga said, mildly disappointed as he watched Daichi get back to his feet. "I'll let you go then. Thanks for the company."

"My pleasure," Daichi replied, lips forming a kind smile. "I hope you have a good holiday, Suga."

"Thanks. You, too," Suga returned, chest feeling both oddly warm and tight. "See you next semester."

"I'll look forward to it," Daichi said and Suga found himself watching all the way as the other boy walked away before finally disappearing out the door.

Suga shook his head, smiling fondly as he turned back to his uneaten scone.

Well, that had certainly been an entertaining breakfast.

ooooooo

A day late but a long chapter so hopefully that makes up for it. Now, that college and my job has started back for me, I have a lot less flexibility in my schedule. Because of that, I'm changing "Updates Friday" to "Updates Weekends". With this, I will always try to update still on Friday. Thank you for all of your patience and continued support; hope you enjoy the chapter!

Next Chapter: Merry Greetings


	13. Merry Greetings

"Oh ho, look who _finally_ decides to drop in for a visit," the statue of Godric Gryffindor called, just as Hinata, Yachi, and Kageyama made it through the half a mile tunnel. "Lucky I didn't die of boredom."

Rowena Ravenclaw gave a pronounced eye roll. "We're statues, Godric. We can't die, let alone from something a puerile as boredom."

"Not everyone's entertained by just sticking their nose in a book for hours," Godric shot back. "Especially not the boring old books _you_ like."

"How are you? How's school?" Helga Hufflepuff stepped forward, interrupting Rowena's retort. "From what the busts in the common room saw, it doesn't look like you all are having a very good year."

The statue of Salazar Slytherin shifted uncomfortably behind Helga.

"That's actually what we came here to talk to you about." Yachi smiled nervously, still not quite used to actually being able to talk to the living statues of the House founders.

Godric sighed, propping himself up to sit on one of the podiums that used to hold heirlooms. "Didn't think it was just a social visit. What's up?"

Yachi, Kageyama, and Hinata all traded a look before finally Kageyama blurted out what they were all thinking. "We want to know about the Chamber of Secrets?"

All four statues stiffened at the words, eyes flickering over to Salazar before returning to the trio.

"The Chamber of Secrets," Helga said softly. "We don't-I'm afraid we don't know much about it either."

"But, _how,_ " Hinata asked. "You guys were there when it happened, weren't you?"

He turned to the Slytherin statue with a hopeful look in his eyes. "At least you have to know something, right?"

Salazar frowned, folding in on himself before Helga stepped forward.

"Sally doesn't know anything," she said firmly. "The Founders created us _before_ their split with the real Salazar. We were just as in the dark as they were."

"Can you at least tell us what happened," Yachi pressed. "From you own view-so we can have something that's not a legend."

The statues looked at each other, obviously conferring, before Rowena sighed impatiently. "The pursuit of knowledge is rarely something we wish to discourage….We'll tell you our story. Godric, if you'd begin. Your creator comes in first."

Godric nodded. "So, back when the school had been open for maybe ten or fifteen years and had just started to gain a reputation, I had a idea." Godric shrugged. "Or well, the guy my statue is based on had an idea, whatever. Anyway, so I had just come back from Wessex-"

"Godric was always wandering around for his 'adventures,'" Rowena threw in. "Left the administrative stuff to me."

"I didn't hear you complaining when I brought you back books," Godric responded, before turning back to the group. "Anyway, that's where I ran across a little hedge wizard who was creating the first experiments with living statues. The kind of statues like," Godric took a bow, "yours truly."

"So Godric brought the books back and gave them over to me and Sally to study since the experiments had a combined potion and charms element, which were always our field," Helga continued.

"The real Salazar always had an interest in the life and healing potions." Salazar grimaced. "For reasons that later became evident."

"From the basis of the statues, it gave them the idea to create the Founder's Treasure and use us statues as guardians," explained Rowena. "They were all relatively young at the time but already concerned with entrusting their legacies to students they found worthy."

"Also, why we started doing the House system," Godric added.

"Of course, not all of the descendants were happy with the decision to leave out prized possessions here," Rowena added softly, fingers running over the stone model of a diadem sitting on her head.

"We'd already agreed to reserve the treasure for those that upheld _all_ of the traits we found important." Helga smiled softly at Hinata, Kageyama, and Yachi. "Though, we didn't expect it would take quite so long for someone to even find the entrance."

"It was all going well until…" Rowena trailed off, looking at Salazar.

"Until Slytherin's curse," Salazar finished flatly. "Until the madness began."

Helga laid a comforting hand on Salazar's shoulder and the statue of Slytherin gave a wane smile.

"You mentioned that before." Yachi frowned. "Back when we first found the treasure. What happened?"

Helga sighed. "We don't really like talking about it, but I suppose you may need to know given the situation." Helga's hand drifted down, gently squeezing Salazar's hand. "As I mentioned before, Salazar's my half-brother. My father died when I was quite young and my mother remarried a few years later and had Salazar. We were quite close while growing up-always interested in learning-so when we met Rowena and Godric later in life, it felt natural to open up a school." Helga took a breath. "What me and my mother didn't know about was the Slytherin curse."

"My father hardly knew about it either," Salazar added. "And what he did, we thought was a myth-an old family legend brought about to scare children."

"What happened," Kageyama asked.

Helga looked to her brother and Salazar smiled wryly. "It probably won't surprise you to hear the Slytherin family was always obsessed with reputation, would it?" The smile faded into a contemplative look. "I was the one who decided to emphasize the cunning aspect along with ambition...Anyway, seven generations before, my several times great grandfather got caught in a territorial dispute with a coven of witches."

"Magic was generally taught in covens or families back then," Rowena broke in. "Practicing individually was rare."

Slytherin nodded. "And even then, the Slytherin family was a well known wizarding family. The details of whether the land was actually owned by the coven or by my family's estate were long forgotten by the time my father told me the story, but the result was a bloody feud between the coven and my family. In the end, the Slytherin family had lost roughly half of their members and the coven was all but destroyed."

Salazar's face settled into a weary look. "Except for the sisters who were head of the coven-two _exceptionally_ powerful witches with much more of an inclination to revenge than forgiveness...They sacrificed their lives to create a curse that would doom the heir of each seventh generation to madness."

"That's terrible," Hinata said, eyes serious. "It's not the kids fault what their family did. How can they curse people they don't even know? Who haven't even been _born_ yet?"

Salazar quirked an eyebrow up. "In my experience, people find blind hatred rather easy."

"The madness started to affect Salazar a few years before the construction of the Founder's Treasure was finished...though we didn't realize yet," Helga said, taking over for her half brother. "We statues had already been completed...which turned out to be rather fortunate since it spared Salazar's statue from being tied to his creator's decline. At first, neither we nor the Founders noticed anything amiss. Salazar simply started spending more time alone, secluded from the rest."

"Then the rumors started," Gryffindor muttered.

Helga grimaced. "Then, a few of the students from his House came to the other Founders with a few things that were...strange. Hearing Salazar talking to someone when no one was there. Nonsensical rants. Forgetfulness….Sudden burst of anger." Helga shook his head. "None of it made sense. Sally's always was a calm man. And if not calm, rational at least."

"Don't forget the experiments," Rowena reminded. "Some students mentioned loud noises coming from the castle during the night, only for Salazar to brush them off as 'experiments.'"

Salazar's statue made a considering noise. "Which alone wasn't that unusual for my creator. All of the Founders had their different areas of study."

"Though most of us didn't conduct them in the middle of the night," Rowena added.

" _Anyway_ ," Godric said pointedly. "The weird stuff kept on for years and every time any of the Founders asked Salazar about it, he seemed honestly confused-startled even."

"I know the real Helga tried to talk to him about it more than once," the Hufflepuff statue put in.

"It all came to a boiling point came right before the Founders' treasures were to be sealed away with us," Rowena took over. " It was at the annual End of the Year Feast-we statues weren't there at the time, obviously-and Salazar apparently burst in late and started ranting to _everyone_ about the inferiority of muggleborns and how they would no longer be allowed to attend Hogwarts."

Helga sighed sadly. "A quarter of our students were muggleborns. There was a lot less separation between magical and non-magical communities."

"I-or well, Godric-challenged him to a duel," Godric huffed. "My mother was muggleborn."

"Which also was the start of the infamous Slytherin-Gryffindor rivalry," Rowena remarked dryly.

"Not like it mattered much, didn't even happen," Godric said.

"Why didn't it happen," Yachi asked.

The statues all grimaced.

"The duel was supposed to be the next morning," Rowena finally answered. "After the Feast and Godric challenging him to a duel, Rowena and Helga tried to settle them down away from the rest of the students. Salazar yelled at them, told them that he was dropping out from the Founder's Treasure and making his own Chamber of Secrets." Rowena frowned. "And then, he stormed out-shouting at everyone he came across that his Heir would make them all pay and that he had hidden a great beast somewhere in the castle that only his own blood could control."

"And then what happened," Kageyama asked.

"And then…" Helga started before faltering.

"And then, he died," Salazar finished, face grim. "Helga Hufflepuff went to try to talk to him and the next thing any of us knew, she came back saying she found his body and refusing to talk about it."

An eerie silence fell over the group.

"So no one knows what happened," Hinata finally said.

"No." Rowena shook her head. "Helga talked to her step father and found out about the curse and we found out about the madness. The rest of the Founders kept it quiet and still included Slytherin's statue in the treasure out of respect. But, as for the Chamber and the monster...none of us ever found out."

"Honestly, both Rowena and I think he made it up." Godric shrugged. "It was probably just the madness talking."

"I think it's real," Helga said softly. "Salazar was many things but...most of all, he always had a plan. Even under the curse, he wouldn't have made promises he didn't intend to keep."

The statue of the man in question merely looked out at the group, not commenting.

Godric cleared his throat. "Anyway, so that's the sad tale of the Chamber of Secrets. Now, if my bust in the common room tells me right, it's Christmas Eve, isn't it? And, you have _much more_ fun things to do than talk to some old statues, right?"

"I didn't even realize," Helga said, mood lifting as she ushered them back to the tunnel. "By all means, go out and enjoy yourselves. We can always catch up later."

"Oh, but…" Yachi said, frowning and opening her mouth in a question.

"No buts," Rowena interrupted. "There's a time an place for questions, but even I know that it's important to put them aside. Go on now and enjoy the sun."

Salazar nodded, a smile smile flitting quickly across his face. "Go treasure the moments before you miss them."

"Alright," Yachi agreed hesitantly, allowing herself to be ushered out with Kageyama and Hinata.

"Thanks," Hinata called, throwing out one last wave. "We'll come visit you later. Thanks for telling us what you know!"

"Of course," Helga called back. "If you hurry, the elves might make you some hot chocolate still."

Hinata's eyes widened, right before Godric shut the passageway behind them and left the statues once again alone in the old chamber.

They waited to speak until they were sure the three had gone.

"Do you think we should have told them," Rowena asked, voice grim. "About the Heir?"

Helga shook her head. "It would have only caused more trouble. That poor dear-he's just as confused as they are."

"We're _statues_ , as you keep reminding me," Godric agreed. "And old ones, at that. It's best not for us to mess too much with the problems of the living world. Let's let them enjoy their Christmas."

The group quieted and turned to their last member, still contemplatively quiet.

"What do you think, Sally," Helga prompted.

"I think…" began the old statue of an misfortuned man, "that wishes-either theirs or ours-don't have any bearing when the consequences come. I just hope that when the pieces fall, they all be able to survive them."

ooooooo

As a child, Akaashi had always nebulously associated the Bokuto house with the feeling of warming his hands by the fire. Back then, it used to confuse him since there was nothing about the home that was that remarkable temperature wise. It was only when he got older and it became his own home, that he was able to tie the feeling to the people more than the structure.

The Bokuto family was a truly unusual family, consisting of five members-or _six_ , as they always insisted. Akito Bokuto was a loud and boisterous woman, whose breadth of heart may be exceeded only by her breadth of volume. Her husband, Chiharu, meanwhile had a much quieter demeanor-preferring to only offer a small smile amidst the general chaos of the rest of the family. All three children took after their mother in terms of personality. Kayda and Kioko, the twin daughters, had graduated Hogwarts after Akaashi's first year but both always made sure to come back for the holidays. And finally, of course….

"Keiji, could you help me translate this?"

"Of course, Kotaro."

Kotaro Bokuto, undoubtedly the first reason Akaashi found the home warm.

Akaashi leaned over the journal, next to Bokuto, and quietly recited the proper translation charm to change the old wording to something more familiar.

Bokuto beamed. "Thanks! Find anything with yours?"

"Not yet," Akaashi remarked, looking down at an earlier volume of the journal. "Except for a charm to cook field peas that I'm pretty sure I saw your dad use last week."

"Seriously," Bokuto laughed. "Ugh, don't tell him that. He'll start calling it an ancient family recipe and then we'll be eating them _all the time_."

"I love field peas," Akaashi commented idly, just to see the look of horror flash across Bokuto's face before he could settle it into a more compromising grimace.

"...Oh, well," Bokuto started. "I guess if you like them, then…"

"I'm kidding, Kotaro," Akaashi reassured him, smiling.

Bokuto slumped down in the chair in relief. "Don't scare me like that, Keiji. I thought I was going to be stuck with field peas for the entire break."

Akaashi rolled his eyes fondly, returning back to his chair on the other side of the study. When they were back at home, Akaashi always transitioned to using Bokuto's first name to avoid name confusion with the rest of the Bokuto family. Bokuto always swapped, as well, out of instinct.

"What are we trying to find exactly," Akaashi asked curiously, turning another page in Hufflepuff's journal to find another entry on cooking charms.

"Just anything about the Chamber of Secrets or weird stuff with Slytherin, I guess." Bokuto shrugged. "I don't know, it's not like she really wrote down much personal stuff."

Akaashi nodded, going back to his task.

It wasn't exactly a new experience for Akaashi to feel... _uncomfortable_ about his divination abilities. He didn't talk about the visions. He definitely didn't tell anyone about them. In fact, he preferred not to even think about them.

Being a seer wasn't anything fun like the books made it out to be. It was distracting-flashes of future after future constantly running in the back of his mind like a television forever on in the background. It was horrifying-with often gruesome futures mixed in with the mundane. It was confusing-disconnected scenes left for Akaashi to piece together and sort through until he had fragments of different futures all winding out like broken paths of a shared intersection.

But, most of all, it left him caught between the corrosive feeling of guilt in not acting and the terrifying loss of control that came with acting and losing all access to the futures that he touched directly.

Over the years, Akaashi learned that it was better to observe and let the future fall as it may. And...in times like now, when he couldn't quite bring himself to _not_ act, he had to at least be very careful about how he went about it.

The future was a delicate thing that rarely appreciated intrusion.

That didn't make it any easier though for Akaashi to _know_ that people were going to suffer because of his lack of action or that people already were suffering. He also hated the guilt that came with hiding things from Bokuto.

 _Not,_ Akaashi thought, without humor, _that it's a particularly new experience for me._

Still, he always felt especially bad for not telling Bokuto his secret when it was one of Bokuto's friends who was hurting.

Surely...surely, it wouldn't be too hard for Akaashi to plant the right seeds for Bokuto to find out about Suga on his own. He'd done it before to lead him to Sora.

 _Not yet_ , he reminded himself. There were too many bad futures that came from starting things too early, even if he didn't have all the details into how yet. Everything had to be in the right order and it wouldn't be if someone-

"Found something," Bokuto shouted and Akaashi's head shot up.

Bokuto turned to him. "Keiji, look, I finally found a personal entry and...uh, it looks like it's the last one in this book, too."

"What is it," Akaashi asked, genuine curiosity warring with trepidation.

In the back of his mind, a number of futures went silent-a clear sign that Akaashi was now directly connected to them by way of hearing whatever Bokuto had found.

"Wow, Keiji, I think this might be her last entry like _ever,_ " Bokuto said, voice soft as he started reading the entry. "Come read it."

Akaashi leaned over Bokuto's shoulder to see the journal.

 _As any who have found my journal notes are aware, I tend to avoid writing too deeply about myself or the many cherished souls I am honored to call friends. This is not due to a lack of care about my personal experience nor, luckily, a lack of experience. It is instead from my dear belief that life and friendships should be an active pursuit rather than recounted in some dusty book. Too many regrets are founded on worrying over mistakes instead of moving past them._

 _However, I am not as young a witch as I once was and some fears I would be foolish to believe could be left in the past. And so, as I can feel my life growing to an end, I chose to resign my biggest regret to a dry page rather than burdening the ears of my loved ones._

 _In the past, I have always refused to discuss the night I lost my brother-no matter how Godric and Rowena and even our students have asked. This was not due, as I know they assume, to my trauma. Instead, it was based on my own wish-my fear-that what I found will never have barring on the future._

 _Alas, I have been a friend of Godric too long, to believe that fear alone will stop an event from occurring and so I offer my story in the hopes that the details it contains will never be of use._

 _To start, I never suspected my brother was the victim of madness or a curse until even after his death. Perhaps, this seems foolish or willfully blind looking back; but, I admit I had dismissed all the student's rumors to mere youthful excitement or-at worst-my dear brother suffering from the stress of his work. In any conversation I had with Sally, including the very morning of his death, he seemed the same reasonable and calm brother that was every inch the cunning Slytherin founder._

 _It was not until his outburst at the Feast, where he started spouting all those dreadful things about blood purity, that I realized something was well and truly wrong. Godric and Rowena did, too, of course. In fact, years of thought have even made me believe that Godric calling him to a duel was the man's own brash way of checking his health with a good fight._

 _But, I digress. After Sally's announcement that he was abandoning our plan for the founder's chamber-along with a rather vitriol denouncement of the rest of us-I decided to give him some time to cool down before I went to talk to him. I realize now that this was a mistake._

 _A few hours later and following a concerned talk with Rowena and Godric, I went to speak to my brother and try to get him back to his senses. As any reader is no doubt aware, this plan failed and I instead only returned with news of his death._

 _However, the part of the story that has remained to this very day my darkest secret is how I found him and that when I did, he was still among the living._

 _I found my brother in the middle of his study, surrounded by a variety of strange runes written in blood along with ingredients that I am only vaguely aware of and exist in the darkest of spells. My brother laid in the middle of all of this, bleeding profusely and clearly suffering from an advanced form of magical exhaustion._

 _I knew as soon as I reached him that he did not have much time left._

 _Both my comfort and my fear comes from the fact that he seemed once again to be back in his right mind for long enough to whisper his last words to me._

 _He told me, "Helga, I have made a terrible mistake."_

 _After that, he died in my arms._

 _I now realize I was still in some kind of shock when I used some of the most powerful charms I know to scrub the writing from the wall and cleaned up the entire scene. Only when I finished, did I go and report his death to Rowena and Godric-leaving out all mention of the circumstance._

 _For those reading this and wondering why I did it, the clearest answer is my fear and my love. It is clear to me that my beloved brother was killed in the middle of a dark spell of his own making. I do not know the spell's intent or even if it was successful. What I do know is that I do not want my brother to be remembered only for his madness when there was enumerable more wonders to credit to his name. In my grief, I decided I could not let his death be my brother's legacy._

 _However, I write now and in this private form because I know that this knowledge may be crucial for someone else. If whatever madness gripped my brother caused him to do something horrible, I do not want my reluctance to be what dooms his victims._

 _Please, if my knowledge does prove to help and my brother's final act is hurting people, then remember it was not his work but the work of his family's curse._

 _I have lived a long life that has luckily been filled with many wonderful people. However, my conscious kindness does not blind me to the many horrors of the world. Pride and secrecy, most of all, have become too many's undoing. I refuse to let it be mine._

 _Helga Hufflepuff_

Bokuto and Akaashi both looked up at each other as they finished.

"Well, uh," Bokuto started, "that was definitely ominous. What do you think the dark spell was?"

"It's impossible to tell," Akaashi said softly, still looking at the journal.

"BOYS!"

The loud booming voice of Bokuto's mother broke through the quiet reflection of the study.

"COME DOWN! THE REST OF THE FAMILY'S GOING TO BE HERE SOON AND YOUR FATHER NEEDS HELP WITH DINNER!"

"COMING!" Bokuto called back and Akaashi winced at the volume.

"Sorry," Bokuto apologized. "Guess, we should wait to figure this out until after Christmas, huh?"

Akaashi hummed in agreement while Bokuto got up and went to the door.

"Coming, Keiji?"

"Yeah," Akaashi answered, reading over Hufflepuff's last line. "Just-"

From the back of Akaashi's brain, a vision rang out-loud, new, and demanding to be heard.

Akaashi dropped the journal.

"Keiji?" Bokuto asked, concerned.

Akaashi turned quickly, frantically trying to slow his heart beat as the vision crystallized in his mind.

"I'm fine," Akaashi answered, aiming for calm. "Just let me put up the journals and I'll join you down."

"Okay," Bokuto shrugged and opened the door. "Hurry up though, it's Christmas Eve!"

Akaashi nodded absently, bending to pick up the book as he heard Bokuto leave.

He took a second to breathe clutching his chest, the vision showing the source of the petrifications still screaming out in his brain.

 _This was very, very bad._

ooooooo

It was strange that when snow was falling, it always looked so tiny and delicate but then you could look down and everything around you was covered in mounds of white.

Surrounded by the warmth of their common room, Hinata sat with Kageyama and watched the snow glitter softly in the light of the moon.

The sound of a door gently opening interrupted their thoughts and then Yachi joined them on the plushy window seat, two extra cups of hot chocolate levitating behind her until they landed in either of their hands.

"Thanks, Yachi." Hinata smiled before all three went back to silently staring out the window.

Eventually, Yachi let out a small exhale only audible due to the quiet of the common room. "I really thought going to the statues would help more. Now, I feel like we have more questions than when we started."

Kageyama hummed, the edge of the mug covering his mouth.

He watched the reflections in the window, not looking away as he spoke the question they were all fearing. "They wouldn't...they wouldn't _really_ shut Hogwarts down, right?...If we don't figure out what's happening."

Neither Hinata or Yachi answered and Kageyama finally nodded, accepting that as the answer it was.

Outside, a breeze blew the top of a snow mound and powdery white washed over the window before it settled again. A few owls hooted in the distance.

"I hoped the lake would freeze over by now," Hinata said softly. "It's gotta be cold enough by now, right?"

"It's the merpeople," Yachi answered. "On the years they don't migrate, they use their magic to keep it from freezing."

"Darn," Hinata replied, a small smile playing at his lips. "I really wanted us to go ice skating. Back at my orphanage, there's this pond a few blocks away. A couple of years ago, Natsu and I saved up for like an entire year to buy ice skates for it. But when we did, it was totally worth it. It was the closest thing to flying that I ever felt until Quidditch."

"I never learned how to ice skate," Yachi said, fiddling with the handle of her mug. "The lake by my house never got cold enough."

"Me either," Kageyama muttered. "My mom used to, though. Dad told me once that she was really good at it….He never got around to teaching me."

Hinata took another sip of his hot chocolate and let a smile spread across his face that, for one shining moment, was even brighter than the snow falling outside.

"Well, I guess I'll have to teach you next year then," Hinata said. "When the merpeople finally let the lake freeze."

He bumped their shoulders amicably until finally they looked away from the window to meet his smile.

"To next year," Hinata held up his mug, eyes and voice firm.

It took a second but finally Yachi answered him with her own soft smile and Kageyama quirked up a lip, both mugs clinking together with Hinata's own.

"To next year."

On the mantle, a clock chimed softly, signaling the end of a day and the beginning another.

And Christmas began with three friends, smiling together and sipping hot chocolate in a room that suddenly felt a bit warmer.

ooooooo

A/N: This one's more an interlude than anything, featuring me making up massive parts of unexplained Harry Potter cannon. This was edited quickly so if you see any grammar or spelling errors, please forgive them and feel free to point them out in review. Thank you as always for the wonderful support you guys have given me!

Next Chapter: Moving Forward


	14. Moving Forward

"December 31, 1939."

 _Dear Descendants,_

 _Our plan begins!_

There was the by now familiar lurch and disorientation and Hinata found himself, surprisingly, in an unfamiliar bedroom that he was fairly sure was not in the Hogwarts castle.

For one thing, it so large Hinata almost mistook the room for an entire house if not for the lavish four poster bed in the center, engraved with what looked like actual silver.

"This is a terrible idea," Ichiro muttered and Hinata was pulled from his assessment to look at the two Slytherin teenagers, both now in their third year.

"Nonsense," Hisashi replied cheerfully, examining his reflection in the full length mirror and carefully adjusting his dress robes. "We wouldn't be going if it was a terrible idea. We _are_ two highly intelligent wizards, after, all and tend to avoid all matters of terribleness. Therefore, as we most certainly _are_ going, it cannot possibly be a terrible idea."

Ichiro looked unimpressed with his roommate's flippant response. "I can't even tell you how bad that logic was."

Hisashi snorted. "Fine, then believe me about this. I definitely wouldn't have spent an entire _year's_ worth of my time training you on pureblood culture for something I thought would fail."

"Maybe this is just a part of a larger plan.," Ichiro argued mulishly, crossing his arms . "You take me to your fancy pureblood party and then have _them_ tear me apart for being a muggleborn. Then, you can shrug and say 'Ah, poor Ichiro. Oh well, at least I get the room to myself.'"

"Oh, please, who do you take me for?" Hisashi grinned, swinging an arm around Ichiro's shoulders while being careful not to disturb the robes. "That's so convoluted. If I wanted a room to myself, I'd stick with the easy stuff. Like blackmail or bribery. Much less hassle."

Ichiro huffed out a laugh.

"Finally, a smile," Hisashi teased. "Might want to get some Spello-tape and stick it to your face unless someone sees your scowl and mistakes you for a troll, rather than a pureblood."

Ichiro rolled his eyes. "Remind me. Why I agreed to this again?"

"Because," Hisashi said, dragging him to the fireplace against the wall, "as much as your natural obstinate disposition would suggest otherwise, you actually _are_ an opportunist. And, deep down, you know that this is the only way you're ever going to find respect in the Wizarding World rather than wasting your days as a muggleborn stocker at Borgin and Burkes. So, stop complaining and let's use that Slytherin ambition to show them why they should never forget the Noroi family _or_ their allies."

Ichiro took a deep breath, settling himself, before nodding.

"Okay, you're right. Let's do this."

Hisashi smiled, before opening a jar on the mantle and throwing something into the fire.

The light turned from orange to a vivid green and both Hisashi and Ichiro stepped into it, albeit the later with clear hesitance.

"Ministry Atrium," Hisashi called and Hinata watched as the two teens both disappeared into the fire.

The room around Hinata started to go black and at first, he thought the memory was ending but then-

Hinata blinked and he found himself in an elegant hall turned ballroom, candles drifting through the air as finely dressed witches and wizards drifted around the room.

He turned to see Hisashi and Ichiro making their way out of a fireplace, still looking perfectly un-burned.

"Now, let's just find the right type of person to talk to first," Hinata heard Hisashi whisper as they got closer. "How about...yes, perfect."

Hisashi-followed by Ichiro, who adopted a mask of calm indifference-set off through the party until he was called to by a witch in a eye searing bright purple gown.

"Why it couldn't be little Hisashi Noroi, could it," she asked, eyes fluttering with mild interest. "Looking all grown up, aren't you?"

Hisashi smiled plasticly. "Ayaka Miura, so nice to see you were invited. I didn't know your family even worked with the Ministry."

"Oh," Miura said, smiling but now looking a touch more uncertain. "We don't yet. But Itsuo-you remember my husband, right?-is being considered for the open seat in the Wizamagot." She leaned closer. "Actually, between you and me, I was hoping to see your father here to inquire about his vote."

"Father was indisposed tonight," Hisashi said. "He came down with a nasty case of Dragon Pox."

"Oh my, I hope he's okay," Miura gasped, and there was something in her expression that reminded Hinata of a hunting bird.

"My apologies, I didn't mean to worry you," Hisashi replied, voice light and already smiling away her concerns. "He's already recovered, just didn't want to risk the party if he was still contagious."

Miura settled, looking almost disappointed. "Well, I'm glad to hear that. I'm sorry I couldn't see him here."

Her eyes flickered around the room, already looking for the next conversation when Hisashi spoke again.

"Thank you, I'll make sure to pass it on. Father sent me to attend in his stead and I'm sure he'll be quite interested to hear about my night," Hisashi's eyes glinted speculatively and Hinata noticed Miura had turned back her attention. "Especially about your husband Itsuo. It's not everyday we get the chance to support such a wonderful up and coming family."

"Why thank you. I can tell you're growing up to be a charmer just like your father." Miura smiled, eyes running over Hisashi and seeming to notice Ichiro for the first time. "And, who is this you have with you? I don't believe we've met."

Hisashi frowned in what almost looked like genuine confusion. "Oh, have you not? I'm sorry for not introducing you. I thought, for sure, you would've already met him at-" Hisashi shook his head. "Oh, but I suppose you weren't at that. Akaya Miura, allow me to introduce you to Ichiro Iganthe."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance." Ichiro held out a hand, speaking in a crisp clear voice with just the slightest hint of disinterest-as if he was still deciding whether the person in front of him was worth his time.

The tone obviously threw Miura off and she was a second late meeting his hand, making her look slightly frazzled in the face of Ichiro's cool countenance. "Iganthe? I haven't heard that family name."  
"Really," Hisashi asked, with a slightly judgemental tone. "The Iganthes have been allies with the Norois for centuries." He tilted his head. "Though, I suppose they have been mainly in Greece since your family's rise."

"A foreign wizard," Miura said, seizing on some kind of perceived difference. "Well, then I'm sure it's taken you a bit to get used to the British wizard customs."

Ichiro shook his head with a laugh. "Oh no,the Iganthes are traditionally British wizards. My grandparents just believed Greece would be a lovely place to retire. I'm back now for school."

"Ichiro and I were _lucky_ enough to be placed together as roommates," Hisashi said, smiling in way that suggested it had more to do with influence than luck. And, also, implying that the Iganthes and Norois were close enough allies to wish to secure rooming.

Miura nodded, taking a quick sip of her wine and tapping on the glass nervously. "You know I _do_ think I've heard about the Iganthes now that you've jogged my memory. Your family's renowned for...potions, right?"

"Transfiguration, actually," Ichiro corrected. "Among a number of other things, of course."

"Of course," Miura parroted. "Well, then I find myself lucky enough to speak to not one, but two charming young wizards tonight. Aren't I fortunate?"

"And we, to speak with the wife of a future Wizamagot member," Hisashi answered smoothly. "If you'll excuse us, however, we haven't even gotten the chance to get our drinks yet and I must give the Minister a message from my father."

"No excuse necessary," Miura assured, looking relieved. "I'll believe I should go check in on my husband as well."

Hisashi and Ichiro nodded, heading off in the direction of the refreshments.

When they were out of earshot, Hisashi leaned over.

"Miura's the best gossip at this entire party," Hisashi whispered. "Trust me, by the time we get drinks, everybody's going to be talking about the famous Iganthe family's return."

Ichiro nodded, distracted.

"What's wrong," Hisashi asked.

Ichiro laughed, reaching a hand up to run it through his hair before stopping himself. "I just didn't' think it would be that easy."

Hisashi smiled widely, bumping a shoulder into Ichiro. "See, I told you that you should trust me. We're allies."

Everything blurred and this time, the memory really did end and Hinata was left sitting in his empty dorm room.

Hisashi had apparently been too busy to write a long entry for this memory and the only new words that showed on the page were:

 _I knew it would work._

 _Superbiam Nunquam Cadere_

 _Hisashi Noroi_

 _ooooooo_

Bokuto waited as the rest of Investigators' Club passed the journal around, faces growing grim as they read the final entry.

When everyone was finished, Iwaizumi leaned back and groaned. "So, basically not only was one of the founders driven insane and doing who knows how many dark rituals around the castle. But, his Heir-the guy we're looking for-might _also_ have snapped from the same ancient bloody curse and now thinks killing muggleborns is a good idea."

Oikawa hummed, running a hand along the journal entry. "If the Heir is affected by a madness curse that's apparently pretty easy to hide, it definitely will hurt our chances of deciphering a clear motive."

"Though, I'll say again, it could might not even _be_ the Heir," Suga said softly.

Bokuto snorted, giving Suga a fond eye roll. "Come on, Suga, give it a rest. It's gotta be the Heir! Even if we didn't have the wall messages, the spooky stuff in the journal totally sales it."

"Not to mention, Slytherin's rant about the 'monster' matches perfectly with the petrifications," Oikawa added.

" _And_ the the timing working out to be just a year after the Founders' Treasure was uncovered," Kuroo agreed.

Suga sighed. "Fine...but we still don't know if the current Heir of Slytherin is affected by the curse. It sounds like the curse only worked on specific generations."

"Yeah, but if anything, that makes it worse," Iwaizumi argued. "Either the guy's curse crazy and doesn't have any clear goals _or_ he's been keeping his identity hidden and is working on some larger goal that we still don't know anything about. And we won't know for sure which one until after we figure out who it is."

Oikawa tapped the journal page. "So, we're just as clueless about the Heir, fine. What's bothering me is Hufflepuff mentioning evidence of a dark ritual."

Kuroo huffed out a laugh. "Yeah, mysterious dark rituals bother me, too. I think it's kind of their point."

Oikawa shook his head. "That's not what I meant. We've been looking at the petrifications as something caused by a potion, a spell, or a creature. We've already ruled out creature based on none fitting. But if the dark ritual Slytherin did was to create a potion? Then, it would've been in the same room as he died, Hufflepuff would have definitely seen it or even cleaned it up while she was cleaning the rest. There's no way the Heir could've gotten it."

"Maybe it was just a potion recipe and the ritual was to test it," Suga suggested, frowning.

"Then, the Heir could be using the recipe now and making the potion to petrify people," Bokuto added.

Again Oikawa shook his head. "Not if the ritual demanded the creator's life like it appears Slytherin's did. That leaves the other option as a spell but…."

"Spells are instantaneous," Kuroo finished. "If Slytherin was doing a spell, it would've been used then and there-not to help the Heir centuries in the future."

"Exactly," Oikawa agreed. "So that eliminates the three most likely options which means all that we have left now are the unlikely ones."

"What are the unlikely ones," Bokuto asked.

Oikawa thought for a second. "Either a charm or some kind of herbology project." He pulled a face. "Merlin, I hope it's not herbology."

Iwaizumi laughed. "Relax, Hufflepuff was a Herbology genius, right? I'm pretty sure, even in shock, she would've recognized some weird unidentifiable plant in the room. I think you can live to avoid plants another day."

Oikawa smiled, looking genuinely relieved.

"A charm would make sense," Suga continued. "Both Hufflepuff and Slytherin were known for them and...even with her expertise...a charmed object would've been much easier to miss if she didn't know what to look for."

"But, how did the Heir get the charmed object," Bokuto interjected. "I mean it's not like the guy could write it in his will like 'and to my Heir, I leave this cursed object. Petrify safely.'"

Kuroo snorted. "Maybe he told them about it beforehand and they knew where to find it."

Suga looked up suddenly. "Or….or maybe someone else found it and didn't know what it was."

The room quieted, thinking through the possibilities.

Finally, Oikawa sighed. "I don't know. A charm's the only good option but it just doesn't seem right. I mean it's not like Mori or Mananda were found holding something unusual or even around anything strange. A charm just seems too weird." Oikawa scrubbed a hand over his face. "This entire thing is a mess. I'm going to expand my research to see if I can find any old charms that would fit the description, too." He groaned. "As if translating through dusty spell books wasn't a nightmare already."

"Your service is noted and appreciated," Kuroo said dryly.

Oikawa made a rude hand gesture.

"I guess me and Bo will keep on looking for anyone going through weird mood changes or something." Kuroo shrugged. "Maybe we can find an angle on the curse that way."

"I'll keep looking into the Chamber." Suga stood, looking at Iwaizumi and Kuroo. "Now, if we don't hurry then you two are going to be late for class. I think we're already too late for breakfast."

"NOooo," Bokuto moaned piteously. "But, it's the most important meal of the day. Bro, I feel so bad for you."

Kuroo rolled his eyes while Suga smiled, pulling out a small pile of wrapped scones from his bag. "I might've had a feeling we'd run out of time. I stopped by the kitchen and asked the house elves to pack them."

"You're an angel, Suga," Kuroo said, already swiping a scone off the table. "Now, at least when I fall asleep in History of Magic, it can be with a full stomach."

"Somehow I doubt that'll keep Professor Naoi from giving you detention," Iwaizumi commented dryly, nodding a thanks at Suga for the breakfast.

"Never know until you try." Kuroo shrugged before directing his gaze to Bokuto and the two Slytherins. "You guys are so lucky you to start the first day back from break with a free period."

Oikawa smirked widely. "Should've been a Slytherin."

"Sometimes I'm still surprised Kuroo's _not_ ," muttered Bokuto, watching as Iwaizumi and Kuroo started down the hall. He blinked, turning to the remaining with large hopeful eyes. "We still have time for breakfast though, right?"

Oikawa snorted, pulling Bokuto down the hall in the direction of the Great Hall. "Yeah, I think we'll manage to fit into our busy schedule."

Suga hummed, catching up at Oikawa's other side. "Speaking about busy schedules, I heard Hara Naroko from Gryffindor asked you out yesterday?"

"What?! Seriously," Bokuto said, jerking his head over to Oikawa. "Bro, she's a fifth year, right? How did you do that? We've only been back like a day."

Oikawa blushed bright red, bringing up an arm to cover his face.

"I don't even know," Oikawa mumbled. "She just came up and started talking to me on the train and asking if it was true I went on a date with Mai. I've never even met her before."

"Did you say yes," Suga asked.

Oikawa shrugged. "I didn't say no."

"Oh my gosh," Bokuto interrupted, voice low and almost in awe. "This is the best thing ever. You got accidentally popular and you don't even know how to talk to girls."

Both Oikawa and Suga turned to stare at Bokuto before suddenly Suga broke out into loud peals of laughter.

Oikawa spluttered, glaring at Bokuto. "That's not-How did you even-I know how to talk to girls!" Oikawa shook his head, settling his thoughts. "And I'm definitely _not_ popular. That doesn't even make sense. Merlin, over half my House is probably hoping I get petrified."

Suga's laughter slowed down and he wiped his eyes, smiling up at Oikawa. "But, it _does_ make sense. You just don't see it because you're always with us. Think about it though, you publicly dueled and defeated our last Defense teacher-"

"Not alone," Oikawa argued. "Heck, Bokuto's the one who knocked him out."

"Yeah, but the duel's what the papers focused on." Bokuto grinned.

"Plus, you're consistently highest in grades for our year," Suga added.

"How do high grades make me popular," Oikawa asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It means people know you," Suga answered.

On his other side, Bokuto winked. "Yeah, only we know it's cause you're a nerd."

" _And_ ," Suga finished dramatically, "you're the first muggleborn in Slytherin in centuries. That means something to people."

Bokuto nodded in agreement.

Oikawa stared, opening his mouth before closing it and frowning.

Suddenly, he groaned loud enough to echo down the hall.

"But I don't have _time_ to be popular," Oikawa said petulantly.

The answering sound of Bokuto and Suga's laughter, in retrospect, probably should've been expected.

 _ooooooo_

"I can't believe it's almost done," Noya said in wonder and barely concealed excitement.

Sitting around their table in the Great Hall, the group looked down at the mostly completed map-watching as the names of professors and students moved quickly around the hall.

"I can't believe I'll finally have my free periods back without having to wander around every bloody hall in Hogwarts," Tsukishima said dryly, though it lacked some of the bite showing that even he was slightly pleased about the progress.

"Stop, you'll jinx it," Ennoshita warned

"What do we have left to do," Yamaguchi asked. "Until it's finished, I mean?"

Tanaka and Noya glanced at each other before turning back to the group with deceptively innocent expressions.

Ennoshita groaned. "I told you it would jinx us."

"Well, the only thing we really have left," Noya started.

"Which if you think about it is really minor stuff and totally worth completing," Tanaka put in, "especially when we're this close."

"Is the secret passageways," Noya finished.

The rest of the group looked decidedly unimpressed.

"Merlin, and with the Heir still around," Asahi asked nervously.

"Um, I mean technically no one's been petrified in a while, so…" Noya shrugged. "Maybe the Heir's already gone."

"I doubt the Heir up and decided to go on holiday," Ennoshita remarked.

"And, of course, we'd be _super careful_ when going through the secret passageways," Noya cajoled. "Plus, we'll do it in the day so it still really won't be that dangerous."

Daichi rolled his eyes, standing up. "We'll talk about what we will and _won't_ be doing later tonight. Asahi and I are already running late for class."

Asahi squeaked, looking down at his own watch before hastily grabbing his stuff.

"You'll at least think about it, right Daichi," Noya asked hopefully.

Daichi sighed. "Yeah, we'll see."

The two third years waved goodbye to the rest of the group and headed off down the hall.

"Do you think Noya was right," Asahi whispered as they got further away. "Do you think the Heir might've really quit?"

Daichi turned and opened his about to express his doubt, right before running smack into another student.

Years of being a Keeper kicked in and Daichi's hand shot out, steadying the other student before either one of them could fall.

"Sorry, I-," Daichi began, looking up. " _Suga?_ "

Suga laughed sheepishly, already looking a bit breathless. "No, sorry, it was my fault. I was distracted."

On Suga's side, Oikawa sniffed. "Well, maybe if you and Bokuto weren't distracted laughing at the struggles of your poor friend-"

"But where would be the fun in that?" Bokuto grinned, lightly punching Oikawa in the arm.

Suga smiled, looking back at Daichi. "Please ignore the weirdness of my friends."

Daichi laughed. "I think you know, by now, that my friends can be weirder."

"We did say we were sorry about that," Asahi mumbled at his side.

Suga's smile grew and Daichi had a brief moment to think that maybe he actually did have a chance, even after his friend' "help".

"Also, rude, Suga," Oikawa added playfully. "At least _we're_ not running into people in the hall."

Suga opened his mouth to respond before-

"Excuse me," a voice interrupted. "You're blocking the hall."

Daichi turned to see fourth year Slytherin Takeru Nakashima, standing behind them and wearing a slightly annoyed if still mostly friendly expression.

"Sorry," Asahi said politely, the group moving and letting the other teen passed.

Nakashima nodded shortly before quickly starting down the hall in the direction of the Divination classroom.

"I wonder where he's hurrying off to so fast," Suga asked with a frown.

Oikawa yawned, blinking after the teen disinterestedly. "Oh, you haven't heard? He was talking about it non-stop yesterday before we boarded the train. Thank Merlin, we got a separate compartment."

"Heard what," Suga inquired and yeah, now Daichi was kind of curious, too.

"According to Professor Onikobe, Nakashima's some kind of divination prodigy," Oikawa rolled his eyes. "Which probably just means his tea leaves readings are right once out of every eight….So, Nakashima apparently got it into his head over break that he was going to use his always ever so reliable divination powers to try to find out who the Heir of Slytherin is." Oikawa hummed. "Seems pretty confident about it, too."

Daichi processed this, trying to think back to his one year of Divination lessons and remember if Nakashima was actually any good.

"Aww man," Bokuto groaned loudly. "Why didn't I think of that? That would have been so much easier than looking through all those old books."

Suga's eyes flickered to Daichi and Asahi before he leaned over to Oikawa, his brows furrowing. "Why didn't you mention that earlier? When we were all meeting?"

Oikawa shrugged, unbothered. "Because most of Divination is a complete load of-" he glanced at Bokuto before clearing his throat "completely respected branch of magical study."

Beside Daichi, Asahi let out a quick surprised laugh.

Oikawa smiled innocently at Suga. "The point is I thought we had a much better chance with real solid research than relying on Nakashima's divination skills."

Suga nodded, seemingly accepting that answer though Daichi noted his shoulders still looked tense and his eyes were caught in some sort of thought.

Oikawa swung an arm around Bokuto. "Besides we've got this guy for all our divination predictions, remember?"

Bokuto grinned widely, holding up a hand to his forehead in a fake psychic pose. "Yeah, and I predict that today is going to be a totally awesome day and that nothing bad's going to happen."

There was a single beat of silence before-

"Oh no," Asahi moaned, looking down at his watch. "We're _so_ late for class. Professor Naoi's going to kill us."

Daichi swore, allowing Asahi to pull him off down the hall.

Before he got out of earshot, he heard Bokuto say, "Um, it's possible my predictions need a little bit of work."

But as he glanced back and saw Suga smile while waving him off, Daichi thought that maybe some things were worth being a little late to class.

ooooooo

The late night found Yachi tucked down into her favorite corner of the library and surrounded by a pile of books. She scanned through another section, muttering to herself as she added it to her ever growing list of notes.

The sound of a throat clearing interrupted her from her reading and she looked up with a startled, "Eep!"

Shimizu-um, Kiyoko looked down at her with an amused smile.

"Sorry to interrupt your reading," Kiyoko said. "But the library's about to close for the night."

"What," Yachi said, glancing up at the clock. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. Did I keep you here late? I did, didn't I? Oh, that's so rude. I promise I really didn't mean to do that. Please, don't hate me. I just always am here with my friends but their Quidditch practice ran late so I came here early and then I lost track of time and I…"

Yachi faded off at the sound of Kiyoko's soft laugh.

"It's fine. You didn't make me late, I normally stay here until now," Kiyoko reassured. Her smile grew a bit mischievous and Yachi suddenly felt entranced to see a new side of the older girl. "Actually, sometimes I get caught up myself and end up missing my own curfew. That's why I thought I'd better remind you so you're not late."

"Oh…" Yachi said, feeling an inexplicable blush raise to her face. "Thank you, but, um, I don't want to leave you with all these books to put away."

Kiyoko smiled, pointing her wand at the books Yachi indicated. " _Et Levare Reditus"_

The books levitated up in the air, looking almost weightless, before the stack separated and flew to different sections of the library.

"It's really no problem," Kiyoko told her. "Would you like me to walk you back to your dorm. The Gryffindor tower is on my way."

"Oh, that would….that would be great," Yachi said, gathering up the remaining books and putting them in her bag. "Thank you, I always hate walking alone."

Kiyoko nodded, leading her out and activating the locking spell on the library door.

"So, what were you reading," Kiyoko asked as they walked. "More history about the Chamber?"

"Ah, not directly," Yachi answered, nerves steadying as she got into a topic she was more familiar with. "I'm looking at Hogwarts building construction and maintenance requests."

Kiyoko hummed contemplatively. "How does that relate to the Chamber?"

"Well, I think…" Yachi wondered momentarily on how to put it into words. "If the Chambers in the Hogwarts and it hasn't been found then...it means that Hogwarts would have had to build around it. Because if the newer constructions had hit it then everyone would've known about it." Yachi pulled out her notes. "So, I'm trying to mark down every part of Hogwarts that's been built on or expanded since the Founding and then I can map it out and, um…"

"Then the areas that haven't been worked on would show the possibilities for the Chamber location," Kiyoko concluded, looking impressed. "That's really genius, Hitoka."

Yachi blushed again. "It's, um, it's nothing. I probably won't find anything. The Chamber could be off the castle somewhere or...well, you know, the castle moves by itself sometimes so that might throw everything off."

"It's still quite ingenious," Kiyoko corrected softly. "Looking for the absence rather than any mentions in the legend. I doubt anyone else has thought to go about it that way."

The blush darkened but Yachi decided to just nod rather than argue further. Sometimes, it was nice to just accept the compliment.

Yachi turned the next hall, looking back at Kiyoko. "Hopefully, I can find it before-Kiyoko?"

The Ravenclaw girl had stopped suddenly and was looking at Yachi with big wide eyes, her hands coming up to cover her mouth.

Slowly, Yachi turned to look behind her and-

Yachi screamed.

Standing frozen in the hall were the obviously petrified figures of Slytherin fourth and fifth years, Takeru Nakashima and Tatsuo Okamoto. A deep red puddle spread out beneath them, shining in the candle light in a way that Yachi almost mistook for blood until she looked at the wall.

Okamoto's hand was still dipped in the red paint and behind him read the unfinished message:

 _The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened. Enemies of the Heir-_

ooooooo

A/N: Thanks for your support!

Next Chapter: Getting Closer


	15. Getting Closer

"Absolutely not!"

"But, Daichi-"

"No," Daichi repeated, crossing his arms and standing firm. "It was stupid enough going around and charming the open hallways in broad daylight. There's no way we're doing that with the secret passageways, I don't care how many 'safer' options you offer."

Sitting around the dorm room, Daichi was met with twin expressions of relief from Tsukishima and Asahi. Disappointment bordering on further argument from Tanaka, Noya, and surprisingly Yamaguchi. And an oddly blank expression from Ennoshita-which normally meant the boy was thinking something through.

Daichi didn't have time to prompt the later before Yamaguchi hesitantly asked his own question. "Um….but, er….well, isn't it better now that we know Okamoto was the one doing the messages?"

Tanaka nodded eagerly. "Yeah, Daichi, come on. The guy was literally caught red handed with paint still on his hand."

Daichi sighed heavily, feeling a headache. "Look, no one's arguing that Okamoto was the one doing the messages. The problem is that with his and his and Nakashima's petrifications, we also know that he was definitely _not_ behind the petrifications. That means the real Heir's still out there and has apparently moved on to petrifying _anyone_ that gets in their way-whether they're alone or not."

Asahi fiddled nervously with his sleeves cuffs. "Poor Nakashima...and we just saw him that morning."

Daichi nodded. "We can start the map again after the Heir is caught. Until then, it's too dangerous."

" _If_ the Heir is caught," Ennoshita corrected, speaking up for the first time. "Not when, _if._ "

Yeah, that was definitely a headache Daichi was feeling. He just wasn't entirely sure on the source yet.

"What do you mean," he asked warily.

Ennoshita shrugged, looking down at the open map rather than anyone specifically. "Well, it's only that it's been half a school year already and no one-not the teachers nor the students-seem any closer to finding anything about the Heir, the Chamber, or the monster." Ennoshita looked up, meeting the stares of the room. "Put it bluntly, none of the typical methods are working."

"They could still work," Asahi soothed. "I'm sure someone will figure it out eventually."

"Maybe," Ennoshita agreed in that same calm voice that _normally_ made his such a great ally to Daichi's reason. "But before or after they close the school? Because, if they close the school, I can almost guarantee the Heir will disappear and it could take _years_ before anyone finds anything."

Tsukishima narrowed his eyes. "Where are you going with this, Ennoshita?"

"If the typical methods aren't working, then we need some atypical ones," he replied, picking up the map. "We've already talked about using the map to catch the Heir but that'll only work if they're using the halls we've already marked." Ennoshita hesitated, clearing his throat. "I was looking at the map last night when Nakashima an Okamoto were petrified."

"What," Noya shouted, jumping up excitedly. "Why didn't you say anything? What did you see?"

"Nothing," Ennoshita said grimly. "I only noticed them because they were out so late. Okamoto got there first and stayed by the wall for a while-painting the first part of the message, I guess. And then, Nakashima came and…" Ennoshita frowned, looking uncomfortable. "Their names went grey and stopped moving. No one else was there."

An eerie silence fell around the room, making the hair on Daichi's arm stand on end.

"What do you mean no one was there," Yamaguchi asked eventually, letting out a strained laugh. "If they were petrified, then the Heir had to be there. Right?"

Ennoshita shook his head. "It was just them."

"But….how," Asahi questioned, almost to himself.

"The Heir has to be using the secret passageways," Ennoshita concluded. "That's the only way they could do this without me seeing them on the map. If we're going to catch the Heir, we need to add the secret passageways."

"But if you're right," Daichi said slowly, "and the Heir is using the secret passageways then won't that make it even more dangerous for us to go in and mark them."

"Yeah, it will," Ennoshita agreed grimly. "That's why I didn't want to mention this. It _is_ dangerous. But...I don't want Hogwarts to close. I...I _really_ don't want that. And it will if no one finds anything soon."

He let those words sink in a second before continuing. "This is a dumb plan. It's a _dangerous_ plan but, we didn't get sorted into Gryffindor for nothing. Sometimes we've got to do the dangerous stuff because if we don't, the consequences are much worse. I don't want to go wandering around in dark secret passageways with the Heir on the loose but more than that I don't want to have to leave Hogwarts because I was too scared to face one stupid blood purist. So if that means I've got to do something stupid…." Ennoshita shrugged, "then, I guess I'm in the right House."

Daichi looked around at the others and saw a kind of grim certainty that made them-for once-look older than just their years. All of them, even Tsukishima, looked to have made their decision and Daichi didn't have to be a Legilimens to guess what it was.

"So," Daichi sighed, letting his own determination shine through. "I guess we're still doing this."

ooooooo

Walking alone down an abandoned Hogwarts hall, Hinata wondered idly how long he could stay at the Quidditch pitch before tutoring with Suga. Following the latest attack, the fourth year Slytherin had abruptly moved their tutoring sessions to _before_ dinner rather than after.

These thoughts were derailed when a hand shot out, grabbing his shoulder and pulling him forcefully into an abandoned classroom.

"Ack," Hinata yelped, hearing the sound of a door slamming shut and reaching for a wand before someone else beat him to it.

" _Lumos."_

Hinata blinked quickly, eyes adjusting to the bright light to see-

"Oikawa?"

Oikawa smirked, waving his wand at the classroom's candles to bring the room to full light.

"Fancy meeting you here," Oikawa said dryly. "Though I should ask _what you were thinking_ walking down abandoned halls the evening after two petrifications. Honestly, Hinata, if you want to make it easy for the Heir, just tell me and we can avoid this whole conversation."

"Hey," Hinata shouted, pointing accusingly at Oikawa. "That's not fair. What were _you_ doing standing in an abandoned classroom?"

"Waiting for you, obviously," Oikawa said, hopping up on the old teacher's desk and gesturing for Hinata to take a seat. "Now, hurry up. I don't have much time and I need to talk to you."

"About what," Hinata asked, warily picking a seat that didn't look _too_ dusty.

"About the Heir," Oikawa answered before rolling his eyes. "Not like people are talking about much else nowadays."

"I don't know anything about the Heir," Hinata told him. "Me and Kageyama and Yachi have been trying to find stuff, but we haven't had much luck."

"Yeah?" Oikawa said, curiously. "My friends haven't either. _Yet_ , of course. Finding out about the Heir though isn't what I meant though."

"What did you mean," Hinata asked.

"You're a target," Oikawa said bluntly. "Even more than the other muggleborns. In fact, if the Heir really is looking to make a statement about blood purity like everyone thinks, then I figure you and I are the _biggest_ targets."

Hinata swallowed, mood suddenly serious. "Why?"

Oikawa sighed. "Mainly because we're prominent." His voice took on a note of wry humor. " _Popular_ as some people would say. I'm the muggleborn Slytherin who dueled Sora and you're the muggleborn that uncovered the Founders' Treasure and is a supposed Quidditch prodigy. Add that up with the fact that both of us have shown strong magical aptitudes and it puts us in the eyesight of several powerful people. And with this Heir business, that's definitely not a good thing."

"What are we going to do," Hinata questioned sharply.

"I don't know for sure," Oikawa said. "Merlin, if I did, I'd be doing it. All I can tell you is keep your head up, be alert, and-if the Heir shows up-either give them a good fight or get out of there as quick as you can."

Hinata tilted his head, absorbing that.

Oikawa ran a hand through his hair. "I just wanted to give you a heads up. You know, being a good mentor and-"

"A good what," Hinata interrupted, looking up quizzically.

"A good mentor," Oikawa said, exasperated. "You know an older wizard that you look up to the most and think is awesome. All that emulation stuff!"

"Oh…" Hinata said before frowning, confused. "But you're not my mentor."

"What," Oikawa asked, annoyance creeping into his tone.

Hinata nodded, unaware. "Yeah, I mean I definitely think of you as a friend. But if I had to choose an upperclassman to look up to, it would probably be….Suga! Oh, or maybe Bokuto or Akaashi! Or Gryffindor's Seeker, he's really cool! And then there's-"

" _Anyway,_ " Oikawa interrupted, grinding his teeth. "For some increasingly small reason, I thought I should give you a warning. So, if you get petrified, don't come blaming me."

Oikawa hopped off the desk, lifting his wand to cancel the lights.

"Wait," Hinata called before he could. "...Thanks, Oikawa. It was really nice of you to warn me."

Oikawa settled, annoyance draining out of his body so smoothly it was like it was never there in the first place.

"Don't mention it," Oikawa said, running a hand through his hair and sighing. "This entire situation sucks enough already. Least I could do was remind you that you're not in it alone."

Hinata grimaced, a thought running through his head. "Ah man, all my friends are going to be even _more_ protective now, after I tell them about this. They were bad enough, just worrying about me being 'danger prone' and a muggleborn. It's going to be so much worse if they think I'm actually being targeted."

Oikawa hummed, leaning back down on the desk and looking towards the floor. "I didn't tell any of my friends. They might have figured it out on their own, if they really thought about it. But I don't think they have yet….I'm not going to tell them if they haven't."

"Why," Hinata asked. "They're your friends. I mean yeah, they'll worry. But if they knew, they'd definitely be trying to keep you safe."

Oikawa laughed, sounding unamused but it settled into a fond smile. "Oh, they _would._ They definitely would. They already do and that's just because I'm a muggleborn. But what can they do really? They can't stay with me every second of the day. And, even if they could, last night's attack made it clear the Heir doesn't have a problem attacking multiple victims at once. And both Okamoto and Nakashima are purebloods."

Oikawa shook his head, frowning. "Also, there's…."

"What," Hinata prompted.

"How much do you know about the war," Oikawa asked in a seeming non-sequitur. "The Giant's War?"

"Not much," Hinata admitted. "Nothing except what you told me last year about it being around blood purity and whether muggleborns could go to Hogwarts."

Oikawa nodded, not looking surprised. "It was a little bit more than that. It didn't even start at the war really. The Giant's Ghosts were originally just a political party that advocated increased separation from the muggle world. It wasn't until later that it got extreme enough to break into all out war." Oikawa ran another hand through his hair, refocusing. "Anyway, the point is when they started attacking, they attacked the muggleborns first. Then, they went after the muggles."

"What does this have to do with the Heir," Hinata asked.

"I'm getting there," Oikawa assured him. "Especially in the beginning of the war, a lot of wizards stood by the muggleborns. Often literally, standing in front of them to give them time to escape. They believed that the Giant's Ghosts wouldn't attack other purebloods."

"Did it work," Hinata asked.

"No," Oikawa answered flatly, expression pulled down in a grimace. "A lot of those wizards died, a good chunk of the muggleborns they were protecting, too. The Giant called them blood traitors, used it as a warning to other purebloods. Told them the Ghosts would only attack purebloods if they were standing in the way of the muggleborns."

Oikawa cleared his throat. "Needless to say, it was a definite blow for the Light side in pureblood recruitment. Harder to get people to fight in a war, when they themselves aren't in danger of being victims."

"That's horrible," Hinata argued. "They should fight just because the Ghosts were wrong."

"And a lot still did," Oikawa said. "A lot of them stood by their muggleborn friends and they died for it."

Oikawa looked back at Hinata. "This is where it gets back to the Heir….I don't know how similar the Heir is to the Giant. But, I do know that a lot of the Giant's tactics worked." Oikawa quirked his lip up in a melancholy sort of smile. "What I also know is I don't want anyone dying for me. Especially not my friends."

Hinata watched in silence, not knowing what to say, as Oikawa pushed off from the table.

"And knowing you I bet you feel the same way," Oikawa said. "I know they're already worried. I know they already are trying to protect me. To be honest, I don't think I'd be able to stop them entirely if I tried. But, if there's a way I can get them to worry a bit _less_ , to protect me a bit _less_ , than that's what I'm going to do."

Oikawa shrugged suddenly and the smile grew dangerously sharp. "That and hunt down that Heir bastard first."

Hinata still hadn't said anything but Oikawa seemed to understand.

"Well, not that this wasn't a super fun and not at all depressing conversation," Oikawa started, "but if you'll excuse me I've got Duelling Club to get to."

With that, Oikawa strode to the door, clearly intent on leaving.

"Hey, Oikawa," Hinata stopped him again.

"Hmmm?"

"You're a really good person."

Hinata didn't know what he was expecting but it wasn't for Oikawa to laugh, loud and sounding entirely too amused.

When it eventually stopped, Oikawa turned and winked at him.

"Only to my friends," Oikawa smirked. "Trust me, to everyone else, I'm vicious."

ooooooo

Karasuna cawed and Hinata gently soothed her.

"I know, I know," Hinata said. "It's late and I shouldn't be here. But….I can't go back yet."

Not with the conversation he'd had with Oikawa still buzzing around his head.

Karasuna had stopped cawing reproachfully, but she was still looking at him uneasy.

"Don't worry, the sun hasn't even fully set," Hinata reassured. "I promise I'll leave soon. I have tutoring with Suga anyway so I won't be alone for long."

Karasuna still let out an unsure thrill and Hinata expected he'd have a winged watcher outside the windows as he made it back to the main halls.

Hinata sighed, not bothering to argue yet and sat down. He pulled out the diary, ready for once to be emerged into someone else's problems rather than his own.

"July 14, 1940."

 _Dear Descendants,_

 _I went against father's orders. I told something I was never supposed to tell. And the worst part is that I find I don't care._

 _What kind of son does that make me?_

The familiar dizziness and Hinata was back in the room that he now recognized as Hisashi's bedroom.

The teen himself sat quietly on the floor, back against the wall and a disconcerting blankness in his stare. He was alone, for once. The room perfectly pristine except for what looked like the remnants of a broken glass sitting next to Hisashi and a small cut across his cheek.

There was a soft knock on the door.

"He's gone," Hisashi answered, stare never moving. "You can come back now."

The door opened and Ichiro eased into the room, taking note of Hisashi before walking over and slowly sliding down to sit beside him.

"That didn't sound good," Ichiro remarked. "Even with your silencing charms, I could still hear him when he came down the hall." Ichiro paused, frowning. "It was strange. He walked right by me and I don't think he even knew I was there."

Hisashi looked down and couldn't quite hide a shudder going down his entire frame.

"Hisashi?" Ichiro said gently. "What's going on? When you invited me to stay this summer, you told me your father was a private man. But I don't think that's quite it."

"He's sick," Hisashi muttered, burying his face in his hands. "Dragon pox or...or maybe Elven Flu."

"Neither of those cause hallucinations, Hisashi," Ichiro corrected, voice still soft. "And if he's sick, why are there never any Healers?"

Hisashi didn't answer and Ichiro let him sit in silence.

Eventually, Ichiro leaned over to touch the cut on Hisashi's cheek.

" _Episkey."_

The cut healed in a minor but impressive bit of wandless magic.

Ichiro lowered his hand and went back to waiting.

"...He _is_ sick," Hisashi said eventually, not looking at Ichiro. "...It's just not the kind of sick that Healers can do anything about."

"What do you mean," Ichiro asked, slowly picking the glass up and throwing it a bin.

"He's cursed," Hisashi answered. "The whole family's cursed. We have been for over a thousand years. There's nothing we can do to stop it."

"What does the curse do," Ichiro prompted, going back to sitting by Hisashi.

"Madness," Hisashi said, finally looking up with a horrible lost look in his eyes. "Not all at once. It starts slow, just little episodes at first. Now, though...Father didn't remember me, got mad that I'd invaded his son's room. He'd have cursed me but we locked up his wand ages ago."

"Hisashi…"

Hisashi shook his head. "It's not like we didn't know it was coming. It's Slytherin's curse, doomed to every seventh generation. Father's been preparing me for years. But now...now that he needs me to take over as the Head of the family...I don't know if I'm ready."

"How can you be expected to take over," Ichiro said, a protectiveness rising in his voice. "You're _fourteen._ We're still at school."

"Heads of magical families can still serve before they're seventeen," Hisashi answered promptly. "Granted, I wouldn't get to serve on the Wizamagot until I'm of age. But managing the estate, the house elves, making political alliances….in a few months, father's not going to be able to do it anymore and there's no one else left."

Hisashi shook his head before Ichiro could comment again. "I'm not supposed to tell you _any_ of this. My family even changed its name from Slytherin to try to hide the curse. _No one_ outside the family is allowed to know. No doubt I'll have to say that father is bedridden with Dragon Pox or some other terrible illness."

"I won't tell anyone," Ichiro answered. "Hisashi, after everything we've been through, you have to know I'll keep your secret."

"I….I do know," Hisashi said. "At least, I think I do. I don't know if I've ever had to trust anyone before."

"I'm your friend," Ichiro reminded him. "You can trust me."

"Ally," Hisashi corrected absently, the word sounding more routine than anything.

"Friend," Ichiro insisted. "...and ally, too, I suppose."

That at least wrung a small smile out of Hisashi, even though he looked a long way from anything truly happy.

"Hisashi," Ichiro said, moving forward so he was crouched in front of the other boy. "Hisashi, listen to me. Even if...even if you're right and you do have to take over for your father in a few months. I can promise you that it won't be alone. I'll be with you every step of the way." Ichiro smiled. "After all, what else was the point of learning all the stuffy pureblood stuff."

"That's not why I did it," Hisashi frowned, eyes distant. "It wasn't so you'd be forced to help me like this, when I'm weak. I wanted to make you a strong ally. So...so we could be strong together."

"And we will," Ichiro said firmly. "I swear to you, Hisashi. We will always stand together."

Hisashi nodded and slowly, almost so slow that Hinata didn't catch it, a single tear rolled down his face-only to be quickly wiped away.

"Thank you."

Hinata was already half expecting it when the diary pulled him out this time.

He glanced down to see Hisashi's ending message.

 _I don't care that I disobeyed my father. That I went against centuries of secrecy. I don't care that I now trust a muggleborn with the entirety of my family's name._

 _I don't care, but I do find myself immensely and indescribably relieved._

 _Superbiam Nunquam Cadere_

 _Hisashi Noroi_

ooooooo

"Thank Merlin, you're back!" was what Suga heard immediately upon stepping into his dorm.

He looked up to see Oikawa with an increasingly annoyed expression sitting on the bed, framed on either side by a smirking Matsukawa and Hanamaki.

"Well," Suga said with a raised eyebrow. "I see everyone's back early tonight."

"Suga," Oikawa burst out, ignoring the greeting. "Makki and Matsu are doing something stupid and idiotic again. And it's going to get them petrified!"

"Pft, you worry too much," Makki said airily, moving to his bed and digging through his trunk.

"Yeah," Matsu agreed cheerfully. "Like the big bad Heir of Slytherin is going to be annoyed by little old us trying to make a tiny bit of profit."

Suga had gotten rather good at suppressing any external reactions every time the "Heir" was mentioned. But this time still brought a small chill to his spine. Luckily, _this_ chill was more reminiscent of rooming with Hanamaki and Matsukawa for four years.

"Profit," Suga asked warily.

Matsu grinned triumphantly, just as Makki returned with a large piece of parchment that he unrolled dramatically.

"May we present," Matsu announced, "what we like to call 'Who's Attacking Me Now!'"

Suga squinted down at the sheet before his eyes widened and he nearly choked.

"You made a betting pool to guess the _Heir of Slytherin?!_ "

"See," Oikawa said, getting up and striding towards Suga. "Tell them they're crazy!"

"Puh-lease," Matsu said as Makki rolled up the parchment with a flourish. "We're not crazy, we're genius!"

Oikawa glared, putting his hands on his hip. "And what if the Heir finds out about it, is pissed off, and petrifies you. He obviously didn't like Okamoto's messages!"

Makki snorted. "Who says the Heir won't like it?"

"Yeah," Matsu argued. "If they're smart, they'll be betting on it, too!"

"Besides, it's not like anyone's _not_ trying to figure out who the Heir is by now," Makki added. "We're just being more business like about it."

"Merlin…," Suga breathed out, shaking his head. "Well, I guess they do have a point. Even if the entire thing is a little….morbid."

"What Suga said," Oikawa agreed. "A betting pool is completely inappropriate and there's no way the professors won't stop you."

" _If_ they find out," Makki singsonged. "And if anything, showing a bit of dark humor is just supporting our Slytherin side, so ha!"

"Besides since when have _you_ cared about being appropriate, eh Oikawa," Matsu asked, grinning sharply. "Or could it be you're annoyed about something else with the pool, hmmmm?"

"What are they talking about?" Suga frowned, looking between the two pranksters and their glaring roommate.

Oikawa's eye twitched and he glanced down, muttering something under his breath.

"What," Suga said.

"I believe what Oikawa was _trying_ to say," Makki said, unrolling the pool again, "is that our resident muggleborn Slytherin has already gotten _four_ votes himself!"

"It's a stupid pool," Oikawa complained.

"Wait," Suga said, looking down on the sheet and indeed finding Oikawa's name. "How do people think _you're_ the Heir? You're a muggleborn."

"Ah," Oikawa blushed. "Well, the thing is…"

"They don't," Matsu crowed. "The only people who voted for him are people who he's pissed off recently!"

"Ridiculous!" Oikawa rolled his eyes.

"One of them even told us 'I don't care if he's not the Heir, he's still definitely evil!'" Makki added.

Suga frowned, studying the pool and Oikawa's annoyance before-

He started laughing, _hard_ , nearly falling back on the bed when he glanced back at Oikawa's look of utter betrayal.

"Suga," Oikawa shouted. "No! You were supposed to be the voice of reason here!"

Suga laughed harder.

Matsu came up and slapped Oikawa on the back. "Face it, Oikawa, you lost. 'Who's Attacking Me Now' is rolling forward full steam ahead."

Makki sighed dreamily. "This is such a good idea!"

Oikawa shook off Matsu's hand, muttering under his breath about "traitor roommates".

"Oh, Suga," Matsu called. "We forgot to tell you! You made it on the list, too."

Suga's laughter slowed abruptly, looking up immediately. "What?"

"Yeah, just one vote though," Makki said, pointing way down on the list. "A sucker's bet if I've ever seen one. They probably only chose you because you come from a Slytherin family."

"And still nowhere close to that blond second year," Matsu remarked. "That Tsukishima kid's got ten."

"Who picked me," Suga asked, trying to keep it casual and not like panic was slowly creeping through his veins.

"A fifth year Gryffindor, Hayashi Taiyo," Makki told him, not seeming at all concerned.

"Figures," Oikawa snorted. "That's the guy that was messing with you earlier this year, right?"

Suga nodded, hands gripping into his comforter. "Yeah...he's one of Mori's friends."

"Yet another reason why this betting pool is stupid," Oikawa said laying back on his bed and pulling out one of his dozens of books. "If someone could honestly think _Suga's_ the Heir than who's next? Headmaster Ukai?"

"Oh, good guess! Matsu, put us down for the Headmaster," Makki said, Matsu obligingly adding it at the bottom.

Oikawa rolled his eyes. "Just ignore them, Suga. It's not as if anyone's going to take it serious anyway."

Suga nodded and even managed something like a small smile. But inside, his mind didn't feel nearly as relaxed.

After all, if there was already one person who suspected him, who was next?

ooooooo

A/N: Hey, guys! As always, hope you enjoyed and thanks for your support. I've got some major projects coming up so there will almost definitely be no new chapter next week. On the bright side though, things in the story are definitely going to start moving faster soon, so get ready for that.

In the next chapter, Quidditch! Next Chapter: Settling Scores


	16. Settling Scores

The early light of dawn found Hinata surreptitiously checking that the rest of his dorm mates were still asleep before quietly pulling his bed curtains shut and casting a Muffliato Charm.

Sitting up, Hinata opened the diary and began to read.

"October 7, 1940."

 _Dear Descendants,_

 _I'm sorry that it's been so long since I've written. You've probably been able to surmise already but Father is no longer fit to serve as the Head of the Family and has been confined to permanent bed rest. The cover story is a returning case of Dragon Pox that he's valiantly fought for years._ _The truth is..._ _Some truths are better left unshared._

 _That's odd. It's been so long since I've felt so hesitant in writing these diary entries. Perhaps this means I've finally grown confident-become the cunning and decisive wizard that I dreamed of as a child._

 _Would it surprise you if I said I doubt it? Would it surprise you that many days-all the days, if I'm being truly honest-I doubt if I'll ever be that strong? I doubt if I'll ever be the man my father was. I know I'm not now._

 _The one aid that I am continually thankful for is Ichiro._

 _Looking back, I'm not sure if it was fate that led him to be my roommate and to later become my friend. Ichiro laughs when I bring up fate and calls me "old" or even worse one of those phony divination seers. However, what I can say without a doubt is that I could not have become the Head of the Noroi family without Ichiro's help. He's been an invaluable ally and with both of our combined efforts, we truly are bringing back the Noroi name. I almost can't imagine what we'll be able to achieve once we graduate._

 _To be honest, I'm not sure I have a specific memory for this entry. I only realized I hadn't written in months once Ichiro absently mentioned not seeing this diary. Between school, family business, and handling the matters of father's estate, my days have been both frantically busy and mind numbingly monotonous. And no matter how much of a future historian you turn out to be, my descendant, I doubt anyone wants this level of minutia about financial planning._

 _I suppose, since this entry feels incomplete without a memory, I'll just include a conversation I had with Ichiro the other day. If nothing else, it will give you a vague sense for what our lives have become without boring you to death._

Bracing himself, Hinata felt the whoosh and a brief moment of nausea took over before he ended up right in the middle of the Great Hall.

Hinata looked around trying to gauge the time from the windows, vaguely estimating it as somewhere later in the evening judging by the leftover dinner plates. Darn, it was always so weird to try to reorient after coming out of memories with a large time difference.

Ichiro and Hisashi sat in the middle of a table, the two fifth years surrounded by students that appeared either their age or a bit younger.

Ichiro had a few books open and seemed to be patiently explaining some kind of high level magic concept to the gathered students.

Hinata listened in for a bit before the subject matter went so much over his head, he felt dizzy.

The students around Ichiro seemed, though, to be listening with rapt attention-some of the younger verging near hero worship-so Hinata guessed that Ichiro must be doing a decent enough job.

Next to him, Hisashi was quickly and efficiently copying notes after notes and handing them out to grateful students.

The moment he finished, Hisashi looked up at Ichiro and the later cleared his throat.

"Alright, I think that's all we have time for today," Ichiro announced.

"B-but," stuttered out a younger and incredibly anxious looking Hufflepuff, "there's a test tomorrow in Transfiguration!"

Hisashi laughed, fond though there was a barely hidden exhaustion resting in his eyes. "Trust me, you'll be fine. I think Ichiro here taught you all the way into next semester."

Ichiro smiled sheepishly and one of the girls by Hinata let out a dreamy sigh.

Reluctantly, the students finally let Hisashi and Ichiro shoo them away from the table, breaking off and heading to different parts of the castle until only Ichiro and Hisashi remained.

Quickly gathering up the rest of their stuff, Hisashi waited until they were down the hall and out of eyesight before finally letting out a heavy groan.

"Ichiro," Hisashi began mournfully, "please remind me why we _willingly_ give up hours of our time for tutoring when we barely get enough sleep as it is."

Ichiro grinned, letting Hisashi lean into him as they walked. "Because a good three fourths of those students come from Noble families, have parents high up in the Ministry, or _both_. All of who will, no doubt, be very appreciative to hear their heirs speak about the charms and intelligence of the Noroi and Ignathe families."

"Oh, right that," Hisashi said, transferring from leaning on Ichiro to the wall as Ichiro recited the password for the Slytherin common room. "Tell me, when exactly did you get a better handle on politics than me? As your teacher, I feel like that's tragically unfair."

Ichiro snorted, turning to eye Hisashi critically. "I'm not sure, probably when you let yourself get too tired to hold a quill properly. Speaking of, please tell _me_ that you're getting at least some sleep tonight."

"We'll see how much work I can get done on the new stack of blasted forms the goblins sent me," Hisashi said, beginning up the stairs. "No wonder we don't have Goblin Wars anymore. The little beasts have already won. They're slowly burying us alive in paperwork."

"What did you learn from the newest stack," Ichiro asked quietly, shutting the door to their room.

Hisashi rubbed his eyes. "Apparently, Father let more than just our alliances drop in his declining health. The financials are a mess-as I've had more than one irate goblin tell me."

"Hmm, well that's why we're going to all those galas this winter and have these tutoring sessions for," Ichiro said, a firmly hopeful note in his voice. "We're rebuilding everything brick by brick until one day until we can stand so tall, they'll never remember we've fallen."

"And just at the cost of my remaining sanity." Hisashi flopped back on his bed, grabbing blindly at his table for a stack of papers. He looked at them before moaning. "The goblins want them in triplicate."

Ichiro laughed, sitting down on the other side of Hisashi's bed and reaching for a stack. "Here, I'll help you fill them out. By now, I know about your family finances almost as much as you." Ichiro hummed idly. "You know for all your complaining, I think you actually _enjoy_ teaching. I can see it in your face."

"So what," Hisashi said distractedly, writing something down. "It's a pleasant enough pastime I suppose. Not like I'll have time for it after I graduate."

Ichiro tilted his head, glancing down at a form but neither disagreeing nor agreeing.

"Ack," Hisashi groaned, rubbing his hand. "A few forms in and my hand's already cramping. _Why_ do these forms have to be warded against magic? I might as well be a muggle filling them out like this."

Hinata saw a small frown cross Ichiro's face but other than that he didn't say anything.

Hisashi must have seen it to. "Well?"

"What," Ichiro asked absently.

"Normally, this is where you'd give me some platitude about how muggles just don't know better or aren't lucky enough to have magic or something," Hisashi reminded him, playfully raising an eyebrow. "Come on, they're part of our usual banter by now. I'm waiting."

Ichiro laughed again but this time it came out a bit stilted. "Not today, I don't think."

Hisashi sat down his form. "Okay, what's wrong?"

Ichiro's shoulders hunched up. "Just not feeling as protective of them today. Why are you complaining? It's not like you disagree either."

"Yes, but I'm not you," Hisashi said, rolling his eyes. "So, I'll ask again, what's wrong?"

Ichiro's face went through a complicated series of emotions before finally settling on something neutral. "I just….What if you're right? You always talk about how muggles corrupt wizarding traditions and endanger us all. What if you're right and they are dangerous?"

"What brought this on," Hisashi asked seriously.

"Well, there is a war, you know," Ichiro said dryly.

"A war," Hisashi inquired, sounding honestly confused.

Ichiro shook his head. "Sorry, I forgot how much the Wizarding World isolates itself. Yes, the Muggles are at war right now. A big war, even bigger than their Great War. Almost the entire world's said to be involved."

"Well, not _our_ world luckily," Hisashi reassured, sounding relieved.

"No," Ichiro agreed. "But we're still seeing the effects. All the muggleborn students stayed at Hogwarts this summer and it looks they will again." He shook his head. "They're evacuating a lot of the Muggle cities, too. My little brother sent me a few newspapers he got his hands on and….it's terrible. The battlefields, the weapons, the death tolls-both civilians and soldiers. It's just...horrible."

Hisashi shifted, looking uneasy. "Is your brother okay?"

Ichiro grimaced. "Yeah, he's fine. He hasn't been evacuated yet, the orphanage is far enough away from the bombings."

"Well, that's good," Hisashi comforted.

"I know, but I…" Ichiro sighed. "I just wish he could be here with me. At Hogwarts. Safe. He's sensitive, I don't want him to be around this."

"And you're sure he's not even just a bit magical," Hisashi asked. "If he was, I'm sure we could get him through. Even if it's not…" Hisashi faltered before visibly recovering, "well maybe we could pass him off as a squib. He wouldn't have a great life; but, at least, he'd be away from the Muggles."

Ichiro shook his head. "No, trust me. No interest in the magical world and loves the Muggle World, no….no magic. Not even a bit."

Hiashi reached over to grip his shoulder in a conciliatory gesture and Ichiro smiled slightly, squeezing the hand.

"Would be a lot easier if he _was_ a wizard though," Ichiro mumbled. "Get him away from those sort."

"What sort," Hisashi asked. "Soldiers?"

"No," Ichiro said, going back to the forms and obviously wanting to end the conversation. "Just some older kids at the orphanage. Bullies. Pick on him for having such a…" he snorted, giving Hisashi a look, "'weird and creepy' older brother. They beat him up a bit."

"Muggles are terrible," Hisashi said, shaking his head with a look of disgust. "As if they know anything."

Ichiro stayed quiet, not disagreeing. In fact, if anything, Ichiro looked like he would use worse words.

"This is stupid," Ichiro said suddenly, a forced lighter note in his tone. "Let's finish up these forms and go to bed somewhere before both of our eyes start to bleed."

Hisashi snorted, leaning back on the bed with a smile-the concern melting back. "Merlin, don't joke. Knowing the goblins, eye bleeding might be an actual _requirement_ for some of these."

Black crept around the edges of Hinata's vision and the scene faded slowly for once, almost like falling asleep.

Finally, Hinata looked down and found himself back in his own dorm room.

 _If, my descendant, you were vastly curious on if we got the forms done, the answer is yes and even with a full four hours before dawn. The goblins rewarded us with a new stack the next morning. Truly, the joys of being the Head of an Ancient and Noble Family know no ends._

 _Superbiam Nunquam Cadere_

 _Hisashi Noroi_

Hinata read the last sentence just as a loud banging sounded on his bed curtains.

Canceling the charm, he quickly drew them back to come face to face with a glaring Kageyama.

"Finally," Kageyama said, exasperated. "Idiot, don't use a Muffliato Charm on your bed when we have a Quidditch game. I've been trying to get you up for a half an hour!"

"Quidditch!" Hinata screamed, jumping up and flinging open his trunk to grab his gear. "Kageyama, how much time do I have right now."

"Currently," Kageyama asked, fully dressed and raising an eyebrow. "Less than an hour until the opening pitch!"

Hinata let out a sound between a yelp and a moan.

ooooooo

The thing was Iwaizumi knew-he _knew_ that Oikawa wasn't an idiot. He knew that his best friend was actually highly intelligent.

Which means that, for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why Oikawa was so dumb sometimes.

"Why are we even debating this," Iwaizumi asked, glaring. "You're being an idiot."

Oikawa rolled his eyes, pouting petulantly. "I'm not being an idiot, Iwa-chan. You're just being unreasonable. You can't follow me around every moment of every day-that's insane."

"It's not insane," Iwaizumi sniped back, careful to keep his voice to just a furious whisper as they made their way down to the Quidditch pitch. "The Heir is out there targeting muggleborns. It is definitely _not_ insane to walk with someone to class and back to the dorms at night."

"And like I told you," Oikawa said, genuine annoyance now creeping into his voice. "I don't need a babysitter. I'm already being safe. I'm getting back to the dorms early, I'm walking with crowds. I don't need you doing it, too. Besides, that'll just mean you're walking back to Gryffindor alone."

Iwaizumi balled up his fists by his side. "Stupidkawa, could you at least _pretend_ to care about your safety!?"

"Guys," Suga broke in, gesturing around at the increasing number of students staring at them in curiosity.

Oikawa sighed. "Suga, do you mind going ahead to the stands? We'll catch up in a bit."

With that, he grabbed Iwaizumi arm and dragged him off into a quieter alcove of the hall.

"I do care," Oikawa whispered fiercely, glaring up at him. "I promise I do. But, Iwa-chan, _listen to me_ : you can't try to guard me every second of the day. You'll drive yourself crazy."

"So, what," Iwaizumi asked. "I just do nothing, let you do what you want, and hope you don't get petrified. There's not that many muggleborns in the school, Oikawa. You don't know when the Heir might get to you."

Only because Iwaizumi had known Oikawa as long as he did was he able to catch the quick flash in his eyes. The quick moment of indecision that made Iwaizumi think that Oikawa knew something he didn't. Had figured something out.

A quarter of a second and it was gone, Oikawa smiling easily as if it had never been there.

"You can't protect me from everything, Iwa-chan," Oikawa said softly, smiling up at him. "I know what I'm doing, okay. I know the danger. Just trust me that I'm doing what's best, alright?"

Iwaizumi sighed heavily, running a hand through the back of his hair. "...fine."

Oikawa beamed, relief settling behind his eyes as he pulled Iwaizumi back in the main hallway. "Good, now come on, let's go and see if it'll be either Bokuto or Kuroo we end up comforting tonight."

"Yeah, okay," Iwaizumi agreed, letting himself be pulled. "Hey, Oikawa? Just one more thing."

"Hmmm," Oikawa made an inquisitive noise, looking back.

"Promise me you'll be careful, yeah," Iwaizumi asked.

Oikawa's smile thinned out, leaving him looking serious and intense.

"I promise I'll be as careful as I can," Oikawa agreed. "And if anything does try to attack me, I promise I'll make them regret it."

Iwaizumi nodded, accepting that promise.

It still didn't feel like quite enough.

ooooooo

Standing at the entrance to the stands, Suga looked down at his watch and wondered if it would be better to head up and grab them seats since he still hadn't spotted Iwaizumi or Oikawa.

"Suga!" someone called and Suga looked over to see Daichi wave to him from a bit further away. Behind him stood his regular group of friends-Ennoshita, for some reason glaring down, at a Tanaka and Noya that seemed much more subdued than what Suga remembered from last time.

Suga waved back and soon the entire group had come over to join him.

"Are you waiting for someone," Daichi asked, smiling in a way that Suga couldn't help himself from mirroring.

"If you aren't, you could always come sit with Daichi-er, I mean all of _us_ ," Noya interjected before being hit on the back of the head by Ennoshita. "What! I was being helpful!"

Suga laughed. "Thanks, but I'm just waiting for Oikawa and Iwaizumi. They got, um, delayed down the hall somewhere and I haven't been able to spot him."

"Oh," Daichi said and it might've been Suga's imagination but the Gryffindor boy seemed almost disappointed. "Well, if you'd like, I can wait with you?"

"Great idea," Tsukishima said briskly, pulling on the arm of the freckled Gryffindor boy. "You do that and the _rest_ of us will go get seats."

"Ah, but I wanted to see what was going to happen when-" Tanaka's mouth was quickly covered by a panicked looking Asahi and Suga decided to give up any hope he ever had of figuring out Daichi's weird friends.

Soon, the entire group departed up into the stands, leaving just Daichi and Suga remaining.

Suga turned, smiling up at Daichi. "Why I do believe we just got ditched." He hit his shoulder playfully against Daichi. "You think it was something I said?"

"What? Oh, no. I think they're trying to be helpful actually," Daichi said, seemingly more to himself. At Suga's confused look, Daichi shrugged. "It's hard to tell sometimes. My friends are strange...but, um, I know it's definitely not anything you said. You're...you're amazing."

Suga blushed, looking down and feeling oddly bashful. "You're pretty great yourself."

Looking up, Suga just managed to catch Daichi's wide grin before-

"H-Hey!"

A voice rang out, drawing the attention of nearby students as a nervous but determined looking Hayashi Taiyo stepped up in front of the two of them.

Suga tensed up, feeling something distinctly foreboding in the way Hayashi glared down at him.

"Hayashi," Daichi said almost cautiously.

Hayashi turned on Daichi, apparently deciding to avoid Suga entirely. "You shouldn't talk to him, Daichi. He's the one who attacked Mori! He's the Heir, I know it!"

Suga felt something in him freeze and he barely managed to stutter out a "No, t-that's not true. I didn't do anything to Mori."

By now a bit of a crowd was gathering around them, whispering to each other as Hayashi drew back and gave Suga a glare so venomous it almost counted as a curse.

"You _did_ ," Hayashi insisted. "I know it was you. Mori was fine and then one argument with you and he ends up petrified that very night." The older boy balled up his fists and Suga belatedly realized they were gripping a wand. "You might have everyone else convinced but not me. I _know_ what you are. You're _evil._ Just like the rest of your family."

" _Hayashi_ ," Daichi snapped in warning, reaching in his robes for his own wand

Suga stepped forward in front of him, putting his hands up in an attempt to placate Hayashi.

A plan that ended up backfiring horribly.

"Get away from me," Hayashi yelled, eyes wide and scrambling back to hold up his wand directly at Suga.

"It's fine," Suga said, taking another step forward to try to put himself in more open space. "Everything's fine. I'm not-"

" _Mucus Projectum,"_ Hayashi shouted and immediately Suga found his robes soaked with a bright green ooze and an absolutely putrid smell.

The crowd surrounding them backed up immediately a few of them holding their robes over their nose or casting Fresh Air Charms.

"Hayashi," Daichi yelled, coming around from behind Suga to glare at the older boy. "What in Merlin's name are you doing?!"

Faced with both the full front of Daichi's wrath and Suga, Hayashi's self-proclaimed boogeyman, the Gryffindor fifth year had obviously decided that retreat was the wisest option.

Hayashi stumbled back, shooting one last panicked look at Suga and then at the crowd. "He's the Heir! I'm telling you he's the Heir! If we don't do anything, he's going to attack us all. Just like he did Mori!"

With that Hayashi disappeared quickly back into the crowd, pushing his way in the direction of the hall.

The audience obviously deciding that the show had ended started milling their way up to the Quidditch seating leaving Suga to face Daichi.

"Suga, I'm-" Daichi started.

"I think I better go back to my dorm and change," Suga said quietly, pulling up his Slytherin pride and making a brave face. He faked a laugh. "I guess I was lucky Hayashi's charm attacks are still on a first year's level." The laugh fell flat and Suga looked down, taking in his robes instead of looking up at Daichi. "If...if you wouldn't mind, telling Iwaizumi and Oikawa what happened for me, I would very much appreciate it."

"Suga, of course," Daichi said and once again looked to be about to say more before Suga stopped him.

"Thanks," Suga said. "And tell them….tell them I'll try to make it back before the end of the game."

Suga didn't give Daichi any more time to offer what was sure to be some kind of pity. He turned, heading off towards the halls and taking advantage of the way the crowds parted around him, holding their noses as they did so.

Suga tried to take it to heart, tried to tell himself that worse things happened to people every day, tried to tell himself that the entire thing could be much worse and it's not like opinions would be swayed just by one Gryffindor.

In the end though, Suga wasn't sure how successful these reassurances were. It all still felt pretty awful.

ooooooo

"Alright, team," Bokuto boomed out, hands on his hips "This is it! The match we've been waiting for! This is our chance to finally pay back those stupid eagles for last year! Are we ready?"

Grunts and yells of agreement echoed from around the changing room.

"That's what I thought," Bokuto yelled back, putting his hand in the center of the circle. "Now, everyone on three. One. Two. Three!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Bokuto gave them all a wide grin, turning and marching onto the field with a clear sense of purpose. Kageyama and the rest of the team followed behind him.

Beside him, Hinata bumped into his shoulder. "Ready, Kageyama?"

"Of course," Kageyama muttered.

Hinata beamed, practically skipping as he walked to the field. "It's really time, isn't it? We're going to get to show them the new pass!"

"We used it in the Gryffindor game already," Kageyama argued, but internally his heart beat faster in anticipation.

"Pft, that was different though. That's when we were still learning about it. _Now,_ we get to really show them." Hinata's eyes took on that feral, slightly wild edge that always simultaneously made a chill run down Kageyama's spine but also tighten his fingers eagerly around his broom.

Professor Oiwake blew the whistle and Kageyama shot off the ground.

Even before the Quaffle was thrown into play, the atmosphere around the field felt different than any Kageyama had remembered. Or maybe not so much different as just _more._ There was an electric feeling humming across the players-not worry like Kageyama had felt in the Slytherin game, but a pure sense of excitement that meant everyone was ready to play their best.

The Quaffle came up and Ravenclaw's Chaser Misaki shot down like a cannon blast, catching the Quaffle and sending it up quick to fellow Chaser Watari.

Watari rushed down the field making it almost twenty feet away from the goals before he got caught up hard in Koki, Aone, and Futakuchi's wall defense.

Kageyama shot around, catching the Quaffle from Futakuchi and immediately redirecting it down the field at Hinata-feeling where he'd be rather than sparing a glance.

Even before the cheer went up, he could feel somewhere in his bones that Hinata had caught it successfully. Kageyama flew quick to the other side of the field, readying for Hinata's relay.

He glanced back and saw Hinata weaving swiftly through the Ravenclaw Beaters, fourth year Kuroo and sixth year Hirano, before almost getting caught by a well aimed Bludger.

He threw to Kageyama, who caught it and barely let it touch his hand before throwing at the right goal.

Ravenclaw's Keeper, Yaku dove for it but couldn't quite make it before the Quaffle fell through.

The crowd cheered wildly from the stands and in the back of his mind, Kageyama vaguely registered the sound of the announcer.

"HUFFLEPUFF SCORES THE FIRST GOAL OF THE GAME THANKS TO THE SPECTACULAR SPEED OF THEIR CHASER! RAVENCLAW BETTER GET READY, FOLKS, OR THIS GAME MIGHT BE DECIDED BEFORE THE SNITCH IS CAUGHT!"

Yaku frowned, looking irritated, before passing the Quaffle fast to a waiting Watari.

Watari flew straight down the field, so fast that Hinata and Kageyama both had to fight to keep up. They almost missed when Watari pulled a trick play, dropping the Quaffle directly down to a waiting Misaki while still flying straight as if he was aiming to score a goal.

Misaki barely had the Quaffle a handful of seconds before she ran into the Hufflepuff wall defense. She smiled, throwing the Quaffle sideways at an angle just as Ravenclaw's third Chaser and Captain-Sakai Yan-caught it almost effortlessly and threw hard at Bokuto's left.

The announcer duly noted that Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were now tied in points.

Bokuto retrieved the Quaffle, throwing it back into play to Koki.

Koki faked a throw to Kageyama, before redirecting it to Hinata before the Ravenclaw Beaters caught up to him.

Hinata flew up at an almost ninety degree angle, twisting up in the sky before going into a sharp dive, letting gravity lend him speed as he aimed for the goals.

Hinata ducked, almost being hit by a Bludger, before making it to the goal and throwing to the right.

Hufflepuff pulled ahead and Yaku threw the Quaffle back to Misaki, who passed to Watari and Ravenclaw almost made it to the goal before Aone's Bludger caused them to drop the Quaffle.

Kageyama caught it and with a brief glance at the field, he knew Hinata was ready.

Hinata was more than halfway across the field, more close to Ravenclaws' goal than Hufflepuff's. Ravenclaws' Beaters had pulled closely to him, flying at diagonals to him to try to avoid him escaping. Kageyama knew better than that though, trusted Hinata to be able to maneuver faster than they'd be able to catch.

All Kageyama had to do was give him the throw.

In less than a second from receiving the Quaffle, Kageyama calculated and threw to empty air.

Hinata had moved before he'd even thrown, flying to the exacts spot Kageyama had estimated and catching the Quaffle.

Faster than most people could blink, Hinata redirected and the Quaffle threw in the goal so quickly that Yaku hadn't even gotten to fly more than a foot before it scored.

There was a pause and the stands went wild.

Kageyama, ignored them, focusing on the bright grin that Hinata shot him even from half a field away.

The breath that was caught in his chest slowly released and Kageyama nodded back.

The rest of the game continued neck and neck. Hufflepuff just barely keeping onto their two goal lead while Ravenclaw struggled to catch up.

Everyone seemed to be on top form. Koki, Aone, and Futakuchi running a strict defense that matched up evenly against the agility of the Ravenclaw Chasers. The Ravenclaw Beaters were still struggling to catch up with Kageyama's accuracy and Hinata's speed-still managing to outplan them a time or two. Yaku had apparently adjusted from the last score and was now playing his best. On the other side, Bokuto was smiling widely-yelling out whenever he'd stopped another goal and winking at Kuroo.

And then something unexpected happened.

Kageyama blinked, frowning when he felt the first drop on his skin.

As if that had been a warning, the sky began pouring-fat drops of rain falling from the sky and sticking Kageyama's hair to his head.

Professor Oiwake blew his whistle once-a signal that the school had caught a time out while awnings magically unrolled themselves to cover the stands.

The players stayed motionless, still tense and waiting for the next signal.

Professor Oiwake blew the whistle again.

The field burst into action and it was like everything was set on fast forward-a fire lit under them as both teams struggled for a lead in case the weather worsened enough to call it.

Kageyama panted, throwing the Quaffle almost as soon as he caught, only for Hinata to flip over on his broom and catch it upside down and use the momentum of the upswing to score a goal.

Yaku zoomed down, getting the Quaffle almost immediately back in play.

Ravenclaw's Sakai hit against the wall defense, throwing it to Watari. He caught it, twisting and throwing it wildly at the goals.

Bokuto dove, catching the Quaffle with the tips of his fingers and just a second away from the goal. Not even waiting to straighten on his broom, he threw it to Kageyama.

Kageyama breathed out, mentally assessed where to throw it and threw-trusting in his and Hinata's new strategy.

The Quaffle slid through the air, the heavy rain throwing it off course and Kageyama's next breath froze in his throat as the Quaffle dropped a few centimeters short of Hinata.

Misaki pulled into a dive, racing to intercept the Quaffle.

Hinata plummeted behind her like an arrow striking to the ground.

The stadium stood in complete silence, watching the two chasers pull neck and neck. Kageyama's heart boomed in his chest, waiting.

Barely two meter from the ground, the Misaki pulled up sharply and Kageyama's eyes narrowed, trying to see through the rain if-

Hinata twisted back into the air, Quaffle held tightly under his arm.

The crowd let out a cheer and Hinata flew to the goal, squaring off with Yaku and lifting his arm to throw.

A whistle blew.

Collectively, both players and audience stopped, so caught up in the action of the Chasers that it took a moment to realize what happened.

Then, in a rush…

"HUFFLEPUFF'S CAUGHT THE SNITCH! SEEKER KENTARO KYOTANI PULLS OFF AN AMAZING SPOT THROUGH A STORM TO BRING THE FINAL SCORE TO RAVENCLAW 50 AND _HUFFLEPUFF 220_! THIS PUTS HUFFLEPUFF IN THE QUIDDITCH FINALS AGAINST GRYFFINDOR!

The stands erupted into pandemonium and Kageyama hit the field with Hinata a second after.

Mad Dog had already landed and was letting out menacing growls at Bokuto's increasing attempts at hugging him.

"We won! We're going to the finals," Bokuto shouted as Mad Dog seemed to relax enough to let the captain at least sling an arm around him.

Koki came up beside Hinata and Kageyama and gave them a wide grin. "Great moves, you guys!"

Beside him, Aone gave Hinata a silent nod that Hinata enthusiastically returned.

"Not that I'm not just as ready to celebrate as the rest of you," Futakuchi said, accepting being pulled in by Bokuto's other arm. "But since it _is_ raining, I opt we celebrate inside rather than in the middle of a storm. Even the stands are clearing."

Kageyama looked up and saw that indeed the spectators had apparently finished cheering and were now frantically scrambling to make it back into the dry castle.

Bokuto nodded easily, opening his mouth to-

A loud scream cut across the field...followed by another...and then another.

The team froze.

"That's coming from the castle," Hinata shouted, mounting his broom and pulling Kageyama.

Hinata pushed off, raising above the crowd in the direction of the screams with the Hufflepuff team following after.

It soon became easy to see what was the cause.

Standing between the stand entrance and the castle and given a wide berth by the terrified students was the obviously petrified form of Hayashi Taiyo-his face still frozen in the beginnings of surprise.

But more surprising was the figure behind Hayashi, that slowly more and more students were turning at to stare.

Suga held up his hands, his wand still held loosely between his fingers.

"He was like this when I got here, I swear. Please, it wasn't me."

ooooooo

A/N:Woah, I am back and done with the GRE (a standardized test)! Also, I feel like now is the time to mention that I am a strong supporter of writing happy endings, so just keep that in mind. As always, thank you all for reading and hope you enjoyed.

Next Chapter: Falling


	17. Falling

Two days later and the storm from the weekend still hadn't blown over.

Rain beat down slowly against the windows as thunder echoed through the halls. Somehow, it only made the whispers even louder. The entire castle had been swept up in the latest petrification-quietly speculating if anywhere was safe now that someone had been petrified in public and in the middle of the day.

Bokuto had luckily been able to defuse the situation after the game, shuffling Suga away before hardly anyone had realized what was going on. But, now that word had spread around the school, Suga was followed by a crowd of stares and anxious murmurs.

With Hogwarts rumor mill having already found their presumed Heir of Slytherin, the questions had shifted from _who is it?_ to _who's next?_

Even those students who didn't think Suga was the Heir were now furtively looking at their muggleborn classmate with a sense of pity and inevitability.

Hinata, meanwhile, had grudgingly accepted that he'd be lucky if his friends left him alone long enough to use the bathroom.

A particularly heavy gust of wind hit against the Great Hall, rattling the windows.

"Ugh, I hate the rain," Lev complained, poking at his slowly cooling soup. "There's nothing to do inside, except play Exploding Snaps-and even that gets boring _eventually._ "

"You could try reading," Kenma remarked dryly. "Or better yet, get an early start on your homework."

Lev's face pulled into an exaggerated look of horror. "Kenma, that's even worse than the _rain!_ "

"I just hope the wards on the greenhouse hold." Yachi sighed. "The last thing we need is something happening to the mandrakes."

"When do you think Professor Shimada will have them ready," Hinata asked.

Kageyama shrugged. "Mandrakes always take _forever,_ especially because they're deadly if you mess up. Not to mention, making the Restorative Potion after. I wouldn't be surprised if it took until summer."

"I heard…" Yachi started before cutting off abruptly.

"What is it," Hinata asked.

"I heard that Professor Shimada's worried there won't be enough." Yachi frowned. "I don't think he thought there'd be this many petrifications."

"Who did," Lev rolled his eyes. "I can't believe the school's still open. It's like they're asking for one of the muggleborns to be kil-Oww! Kenma!"

Lev rubbed his arm where Kenma's book at it. Kenma glared at him, shooting a pointed look to Hinata before going back to Lev.

"What? Oh," Lev turned to Hinata with a fake bright smile. "Sorry, Hinata. I'm sure everything's going to be alright."

"It's fine." Hinata waved him off, fiddling with his bag to do something to cut the tension.

Suddenly, he groaned. "Aw, man, I left my Potions homework in the dorm. I'm gonna go run and-"

"I'll come with you," Kageyama interrupted, standing up.

Hinata frowned. "But then we'll both be late. It'll be alright, I can just-"

"Hinata," Yachi said, pleadingly, and Hinata looked down to see his friends' worried faces.

Hinata shoulders slumped. "Okay."

The two started out the hall and Hinata felt a pair of eyes on him.

He looked up and immediately found Oikawa, staring at him from the Slytherin table and surrounded closely by his own group of friends.

The older boy raised his cup in a silent salute, a sardonic smile playing across his lips.

 _I don't want anyone dying for me. Especially not my friends._

Oikawa's words echoed in Hinata's head and he fought back a sigh. It wasn't always easy having people trying to protect you; especially when you're trying to protect them, too.

ooooooo

That evening found Oikawa, Iwaizumi, and Kuroo once again facing each other in a duel.

Oikawa grimaced, blocking another jinx before firing off two spells blindly.

Both Kuroo and Daisho dodged them easily-Daisho following with a shield allowing Kuroo to set off a chain of spells behind it.

The third or so one finally hit Oikawa, disarming him as his wand flew across the mat to Kuroo.

Captain Ishida signaled the end of the match and Kuroo smirked, throwing the wand back to Oikawa.

He caught it, leaning down to unfreeze Iwaizumi and help him up.

"Good match," Daisho said, somehow managing to make the words sound both sincere and condescending.

They nodded in acknowledgement before turning back to hear Ishida's ending announcement."

"Great job, everyone," Ishida announced. "Now, I've got an announcements to make so listen up." The dueling captain cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. "We all know that the Heir just petrified another student this weekend." The club quieted immediately. "Because of that, the faculty has decided to postpone all night classes and club activities."

Loud muttering broke out.

Washio from Hufflepuff being the first one to speak. "So, does that mean that dueling club is cancelled?"

"Not entirely," Ishida answered, still not looking happy. "What it does mean is that we're moving up the club meeting time to be earlier, so it doesn't end during the night. But, what it also means is…." Ishida sighed, "We're going to have to shorten our end of the year tournament."

The reaction was immediate. One of the sixth years yelling, " _What_? We can't do that. They can't make us."

"Trust me, they can," Ishida replied and behind him Professor Ukai, this week's monitoring professor, nodded. "In fact, they suggested we cancel _all_ of it but I managed to convince them we could still do a shortened form. Because of that though, we'll only be competing in two on two duels since they're the most time saving."

The room quieted, digesting the situation.

"Look, I know this isn't ideal," Ishida continued. "I don't want this anymore than you do. But, since this is what's going to happen, let's suck it up and deal with it. Understand?"

Slowly, the group gave varying levels of agreement-some more grudging then others.

"Good," Ishida announced. "We'll get back to you soon about the new times. Club dismissed."

Oikawa and the rest of the group trudged out the door, listening to the grumbling complaints of the rest of the club as they slowly broke up for the night.

Once the crowd had thinned, Kuroo sighed. "Well, that sucks. But, I guess it's to be expected."

"Until they catch the Heir at least," Iwaizumi agreed.

Daisho let out a hum that grated on Oikawa's nerves. "So, I take it you _don't_ believe it's Sugawara."

In unison, the three friends turned and glared at their dueling partner.

" _No,_ " Oikawa said, flatly. "You see we actually have brains rather than following whatever troll excrement the rumor mill has decided to sniff around these days."

Daisho smiled in a way too innocent to be believed. "Of course, of course….Though, he _was_ found in front of Hayashi and brandishing his wand. Between that and...well, his unfortunate family history, you can see why people are curious."

"They can be curious all they want," Iwaizumi said, crossing his arms. "It doesn't mean they're right."

Kuroo nodded. "Anyone who could actually believe that _Suga_ is behind this must never have actually talked to him before. Guy wouldn't kill a spider."

"Well, it's not _spiders_ we're talking about, are we," drawled Daisho, shaking his head before any of the rest could bite out another retort. "Oh, I'm sure you three are right. After all, you do know him best. Still," Daisho shrugged, "not everyone does know him that well. I think it would be for the best if both you and Sugawara remember that."

Oikawa huffed. "Daisho, if you don't shut up, I'm going to start thinking _you're_ the Heir."

Daisho let out surprised laugh, turning a mocking smile up to the group. "Please, I think we both know that if I was the Heir, I'd be using it for profit rather than attacking muggleborns."

With that, the Slytherin sniffed contemptuously and strode away.

Oikawa glared after him. "The sad part is I can't actually disagree with that."

Kuroo nodded. "The sadder part is I think that was his way of warning us, dickish as it was."

"What are we going to do about the rumors," Iwaizumi asked. "We all saw Suga at breakfast. He looked like he hadn't slept in a year-even with the Illusion Charms."

"As much as it pains me to say it," Oikawa said with a grimace, "I don't think there is much we can do about the rumors at this point. They're too far along. If we did anything now, it would either backfire and make it worse or we'd be throwing some other student under the bus." Oikawa shook his head. "Only thing we can do is wait for it to blow over or find the real Heir."

"And keep Suga away from the rumors as much as possible," Kuroo added.

"Exactly," Oikawa agreed, hiking his bag up his shoulder and turning towards the hall.

"Where are you going," Iwaizumi asked, suspiciously. "Slytherin's common room's the other way."

Oikawa smiled, hoping it didn't look too forced. "Don't worry, Iwa-chan, I'm being safe as promised. I'm going to the library, where I'll be surrounded by _plenty_ upon _plenty_ of people."

Iwaizumi frowned but it was surprisingly Kuroo who spoke. "You sure you don't want to...I don't know, just check out the books and read them in your dorm." The Ravenclaw boy shifted. "Honestly, it's gotten to where I'm not even sure the library is safe."

What Oikawa didn't say was that he didn't think _anywhere_ in Hogwarts was safe-not if the Heir was really after him.

"I can't," Oikawa said instead and was thankful it was the truth. "The books I'm looking for are so old, the library doesn't allow check outs."

Kuroo sighed but subsided. "You're still looking at old charms and spells, right? Find anything yet?"

"Nothing except for a deep appreciation that Iwaizumi's parents kept the more innocent translations for fairy tales around rather than the true wizarding versions," Oikawa gave Iwaizumi a disgusted look. "You remember Rapunzel?"

"Yeah, girl with long hair trapped by a witch," Iwaizumi said, quirking a lip up. "Though, Mom always made sure to tell us she was sure the witch had her reasons."

Oikawa snorted. "Well, apparently the story came from when a witch had a grudge against a local duchess, so she came up with a curse that made the duchess' hair grow until her neck snapped."

"Well, that's….brutal," Iwaizumi grimaced. "Are they all like that?"

Oikawa shrugged. "Most of them. I don't think I've ever been quite as grateful that a lot of the truly nasty old curses require intricate blood rituals that most wizards now are too lazy or scared to remember."

"Well, as much as that sounds like a truly wonderful way to spend an evening," Kuroo said. "I think I'll stick to reading books that I'm not worried are made from human skin."

Oikawa grinned, giving him a wink. "Lame."

"Have fun, Oikawa," Kuroo singsonged, pushing him down the hall to the library.

"Be safe," Iwaizumi echoed.

"Yeah, yeah," Oikawa answered, starting down the hall. "Let's just hope this actually helps us find the Heir."

ooooooo

Though Daichi had yet to ponder out the direct link, he was fairly certain that this entire situation was Noya and Tanaka's fault.

"Maybe if we tried retracing our steps again," Asahi suggested timidly, shivering as his wand shone on another spider web.

"We've done that. Merlin, we've done that _twice,_ " Daichi said.

The problem, as Daichi and Asahi were now aware, with mapping secret passageways in a magical castle is that magical castles tended to _move_. This apparently included their secret passageways, as well.

Resulting from all of this was the fact that Daichi and Asahi were now quite lost-and had been for over an hour.

"Just keep going up," Daichi instructed, holding his wand at another set of stairs. "The last thing we want to do is end up under the lake."

Asahi nodded, following behind. "You know if you think about it it's kind of ironic, we're always so worried about _Noya and Tanaka_ getting into trouble with the map and now…"

Asahi trailed off under the force of Daichi's glare.

"Still in a bad mood about Suga then," Asahi asked-rather cheekily, too, and that Daichi could definitely blame on Noya's influence.

Daichi sighed. "I just want to ask him how he's doing. He looked so upset after Hayashi attacked him and now with all the Heir stuff…"

"It'll pass," Asahi reassured. "Just wait, rumors only last until something more interesting comes around. Soon enough, everyone will forget about Suga and you can go back to failing at asking him out."

Daichi rolled his eyes but gave a half smile. "For someone who I saw literally jump at their shadow this morning, you're doing pretty well at this encouragement stuff."

Asahi laughed sheepishly. "I keep telling you. I'm good at giving advice, not following it."

Daichi snorted. "Is that why you keep giving me crap about Suga when I don't see you any closer to asking out-"

"Daichi, shut up," Asahi interrupted, stopping.

"Oh, no," Daichi said. "Fair's fair. Considering how much I've heard-"

"No, I mean stop talking. I think I hear something," Asahi said.

Daichi stopped, straining his ear to try to hear.

"That way," Asahi said, pointing to a curve down the wall. "There's voices. It might be a way out."

Daichi jolted, immediately following Asahi's lead. Slowly, Daichi could hear them, too. Louder and louder, until he could hear the raised voices of-

"Oh no," Asahi said in half a whisper, half a moan. He extinguished his wand, gesturing to the peepholes in the wall. "I think we're outside the Headmaster's office."

Daichi's eyes widened and he bent down to look through a peephole beside Asahi.

Sure enough, right on the other side of the passageway was an office that Daichi found easily recognizable despite only having been there once before-surprisingly, _not_ because of Tanaka or Noya.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a slam and Daichi leaned closer to see Professor Keishin Ukai bang his fist on the Headmaster's desk with a furious expression.

"There's not even any point arguing with you anymore," Professor Ukai huffed, pushing off the desk and turning across the room. "It's not like you're listening anyway."

"You don't understand, Keishin," Headmaster Ukai responded, face like stone.

Professor Ukai snorted, throwing a final look over his shoulder. "I understand that if you keep waiting it's going to get someone killed."

Daichi and Asahi watched as Professor Ukai stormed out of eyesight, followed by the loud bang of a door shutting.

Headmaster Ukai sighed, leaning back in his chair with a weary expression.

Barely a handful of seconds later, a knock echoed through the chamber and the Headmaster pulled himself up in his seat.

"Come in."

There was the sound of a door opening and then Professor Nekomata came into view, raising an eyebrow.

"I just came to tell you that I've received permission back from Hayashi Taiyo's parents to continue his treatment here at Hogwarts," Nekomata said, easing slowly into a chair. "Imagine my surprise when I arrived only to see your grandson storming out, looking like an acromantula spit in his tea."

The corner of the Headmaster's lip turned up in something that was almost a smile. "Yes, I'm afraid Keishin's rather annoyed at me for the moment."

"Care to share why," Nekomata pressed.

"Oh, this and that," Headmaster Ukai prevaricated. "Hardly anything I can do much about...not that I haven't tried."

"Ikkei," Nekomata said in the no-nonsense tone he used for patients. "Either fess up with what's bothering you or stop looking so bloody constipated."

The Headmaster snorted in a strikingly undignified way. "No respect, I see. Either from my grandson or my oldest friend."

Nekomata rolled his eyes. "Again, if I wanted to hear someone beat around the issue like a teenager, I'd go back to my Hospital Wing. At least, they have the excuse of actually _being_ teenagers."

"Keishin wants me to close Hogwarts," Headmaster Ukai said flatly and Daichi felt his heart skip a beat.

Nekomata merely hummed. "Is that such a bad thing? From what I remember, you had the same idea a few months back."

"I still have it," Headmaster Ukai corrected. "It's the safest option. The problem is, as I keep trying to tell my hard headed grandson, it's not simply my decision to make."

"The Hogwarts' Board disagrees on closing," Nekomata asked.

"Strongly," Headmaster Ukai agreed. "You know almost all of them are owned by the Ministry now anyway. The Minister thinks closing the school will cause a panic."

"Maybe it should," Nekomata argued. "Better than waiting until a student dies."

"Keishin agrees with you," the Headmaster said grimly. "Merlin, _I_ agree with you. But it's not my decision and, loathe as I am to admit it, the Minister still does have some semblance of a point-self motivated though it may be. Hogwarts hasn't closed since the height of the Giant's war. Closing it now would cause an uproar. Parents would pull their students left and right. They might even think it's a sign of another war."

Nekomata sighed heavily. "Let's hope not. The first one was enough for me."

Headmaster Ukai nodded. "Fortunately, I'm talented in something both my grandson and the Minister seem to forget."

"Oh?"

"Biding my time while I plot how to get my way," the Headmaster answered with a sharp smile that reminded Daichi exactly why the man was one of the most powerful wizards of the era.

Nekomata laughed loudly. "Careful, old friend, we're not as young as we used to be. I don't know how much time we'll have left to bide."

"We'll see," Headmaster Ukai answered.

Nekomata levered himself out of the chair before pausing in surprise.

"Where's that bloody Sorting Hat by the way," Nekomata asked, glancing around. "It normally would have told me off at least twice by now for how I'm supposedly forgetting some or other ancient Head of Ravenclaw house tradition."

"Oh, someone stole it," Headmaster Ukai said, looking down at his papers and not looking at all concerned. "I suspect pranksters."

"You're not even a little bit worried that someone broke into your office and made off with one of Hogwarts' oldest heirlooms," Nekomata questioned in a tone that clearly implied the Headmaster should think harder about his answer.

The Headmaster shrugged. "All the important stuff in my office is locked up at night. And, as for the hat, it's enchanted not to leave the ground without a Headmaster's permission so we should be fairly safe. Plus, knowing its temperament, we'd have heard it by now if it's somewhere it doesn't want to be."

"True enough, I suppose," Nekomata said, pushing himself again out of the chair. "Any other reason?"

A small smile graced Headmaster Ukai's lips. "A little prank like this won't hurt anybody. I'll let the kid have their fun for awhile."

Nekomata laughed again. "And, people think you're so tough and scary."

Daichi felt a pull on his sleeve and turned to find Asahi pointing at a wall that was quickly dissolving into a staircase. One with a light at the bottom of it!

"I think this secret passageway was made for the Headmasters," Asahi whispered, pulling him along. Daichi followed, so relieved to see the light that he almost didn't care where it was going to put him.

He still had enough sense to check before he went headfirst into an abandoned hall.

"Oh Merlin, finally," Daichi said. "I was beginning to think we'd never find a way out."

"...Yeah." Asahi fidgeted, but even his usual fear seemed somewhat distracted.

"What is it," Daichi questioned.

"I just…" Asahi shook his head, looking up at Daichi with a bleak expression. "I thought I was just being worried for nothing like usual. But...they're _really_ thinking about closing Hogwarts, aren't they?"

The silence sank in, clinging like an unwanted cloak.

"Don't worry," Daichi said, trying for confident. "They're not going to close it because we're going to find the Heir."

ooooooo

Hinata had an idea that was somewhere in between terrible and wonderful.

"...I don't know," Yachi said, hesitantly.

"It's perfect," Hinata exclaimed, digging through his trunk. "I'll be even safer than when you guys are with me."

"Which doesn't mean you're going to do something dumb, right," Kageyama asked.

"Right!...Or wrong? Which is the answer that means I'm not," Hinata questioned, his hands finally landing on the searched for object. "There!"

He slung the cloak over his shoulders, making sure the hood covered his head before turning back to Kageyama and Yachi.

"See," Hinata said proudly. "If I'm invisible, there's no way the Heir's going to find me."

Yachi and Kageyama stared at him-or, at least, at where they thought he was under Helga Hufflepuff's Invisibility Cloak.

"Well…." Yachi started.

"It might work," Kageyama finished.

"It'll be great," Hinata corrected, throwing the hood off so he was just a floating head. "I can't believe we didn't think of this before."

"You'll still need to be careful though," Yachi said, worrying her lip. Beside her, Kageyama nodded emphatically.

"I will," Hinata said cheerfully. "Look, I'll even try it out right now to visit Karasuna."

"Oh, I don't know. Are you sure you don't want one of us to come with you," Yachi asked, expression reluctant.

"I'm sure," Hinata said, already heading for the door. "You and Kageyama can even stay here if you want. I won't be long and then you'll see that I'm _perfectly fine._ "

"You're just going to check on Karasuna, right," Kageyama said-well, more like threatened.

"Yep," Hinata agreed. "Well, that and maybe look at the diary some."

"Hinata," Kageyama growled.

"Just one entry, I promise," Hinata called, shutting the door before they could argue further.

With that, Hinata pulled up the hood and all but disappeared as he made his way to the owlery.

 _This was the best idea,_ Hinata thought happily. Now, he could still go around the castle without a.) causing his friends to worry; b.) putting himself in-what did Yachi call it?- "unnecessary danger" by going alone; or c.) putting his _friends_ in danger by being around him.

It was perfect!

He made a mental note to thank Helga Hufflepuff for the cloak next time they had to go down to the Founders' Treasure.

As soon as he got to the owlery, Hinata had the most bizarre experience of _every_ bird in the entire tower turning to look at him before squaking in confusion when they didn't see what their other senses told them was there.

Hinata hurriedly threw off the cloak, raising his hands in surrender before he had to deal with a flock of angry owls.

Flying up to him, Karasuna gave him a caw that was part surprised, part reproachful.

"Sorry," Hinata said sheepishly, scratching her head in apology, "I kinda didn't think how birds would react."

Karasuna tilted her head in forgiveness, pecking at his hand where he held a letter for Natsu.

"Right," Hinata said, attaching the letter to the offered leg.

Karasuna cawed, flying up and landing beside him as Hinata scooted to the ground and pulled out the diary.

She flapped her wings at him.

"Don't worry, I won't be long. Just one entry. If it takes too long, just peck at my hand and I'll come out. Okay?"

Karasuna cawed in a way that sounded put upon and Hinata smiled at her.

"Thanks."

He opened the diary.

"February 2, 1942."

 _Dear Descendants,_

 _I know it's been awhile again. I'm sorry, my time's gotten so filled that I'm lucky if I have time for an entry every two months. However, I had to write today since I have come to a monumental realization._

 _Descendants, I am in love._

 _Her name is Naoko Hara and she's perfect!_

 _Never fear though-_ _despite what Ichiro might claim_ _-I am handling this with all the grace and forward planning that such a venture dictates._

Hinata braced himself for the rush and found himself in the Great Hall, at the Slytherin table.

Seated in the middle of an cleared table, Ichiro read silently while Hisashi gazed across the hall with an awestruck look on his face. Hinata glanced over, following his gaze to see a pretty girl with bright silver hair, laughing with her friends.

"Ichiro, I'm in love," Hisashi said, sighing as he did.

Ichiro didn't even look up from his book. "As you've said _four times_ today."

You just wouldn't know," Hisashi responded, waving a hand. "You've never been in love before."

Ichiro rolled his eyes, glancing up briefly. "You're not in love with her, Hisashi. You only met her yesterday."

"But, she's perfect," Hisashi said dreamily.

"As you've said _seven times_ ," Ichiro said, setting down his book with an particularly strained expression. "Look, loathe as I am to encourage your apparent rapid drop in mental functions, but if you like her so much...why don't you go ask her out?"

Hisashi breathed in as if struck. "Ichiro, how can you suggest something like that! These things take planning and research and...and months, maybe _years_ to come to fruition."

Ichiro shook his head, picking up his book again. "You're insane...I guess I'm stuck with you for awhile longer than."

"Please," Hisashi sniffed, "you couldn't get rid of me if you tried."

Ichiro opened the book but a small smile was playing across his lips.

"Mr. Ignathe."

The two sixth years plus Hinata all looked up at the professor striding towards the table.

"Professor Ukai," Ichiro answered and Hinata's mouth fell open.

Sure enough, as Hinata looked closer, the much younger figure of his terrifying Headmaster emerged to stand by the table.

"I need you to come with me to the Headmaster's office," Professor- _Professor?!-_ Ukai said, face grim.

Ichiro's brow furrowed. "Is something wro-"

He cut himself off, clearing his throat. "Of course, Professor."

Exchanging a brief puzzled look with Hisashi, Ichiro packed up his book and stood to follow the professor.

Hisashi stayed at the table, watching his friend leave with a frown on his face before turning back to the table.

A sudden burst of dizziness and Hinata found himself back in the owlery.

 _As I review this memory, I find that I might have had a subconscious reason for picking it._

 _It's almost midnight and Ichiro still hasn't returned yet._

 _I'm worried._ _I'm sure it's nothing, though. I'm being silly, staying up this late when I know I have class tomorrow. I suppose I'm just curious._

 _Anyway, I didn't get the chance to talk to Naoko today but that's alright-it's all part of my long form plan of wooing her. Some things take time to reach fruition. I'll explain that to Ichiro, once he gets back._

 _Until then, though, I suppose I better get some sleep. Classes and all. Goodnight, descendants, I'll try to write more soon about my progress with Naoko._ _And when I figure out what's taking Ichiro so long._

 _Superbiam Nunquam Cadere_

 _Hisashi Noroi_

Hinata blinked at the writing, feeling an odd sense of foreboding that he couldn't quite place.

 _ooooooo_

It was with a bone deep sense of relief that Suga fell into bed after the longest day of his entire life.

If he had thought it was bad for _one_ person to think he was the Heir, that was nothing compared to the whispers of the entire school as he walked between classes. He was only lucky that walking with the rest of his friends kept it _only_ at whispers.

It still didn't make him feel better any better though after a first year muggleborn literally started crying when he walked passed them at lunch.

And the really, _really_ worst part was that...well, they were right, weren't they? He _was_ the Heir of Slytherin-a child of the cursed line. No amount of research on his friends' part would change that. If anything...if anything, they'd just find proof that the rumors were right.

And then, they'd hate him.

Suga's chest buckled and he breathed out a ragged breath that sounded way too close to a sob.

The door slammed open and Suga pulled himself together to see Makki and Matsu, whispering furiously.

"Ah, Suga," Makki greeted loudly and sounding slightly….panicked? "We didn't think you'd be back yet."

"Yeah," Matsu said, holding himself awkwardly at the door. "Don't you normally wait for them to get done with Dueling?"

"Oikawa was going to the library tonight," Suga answered calmly. And...and he didn't want to stay in the halls alone while waiting for the others. Not today.

"Oh…" Makki said, reaching up to scratch the back to his head and accidentally jarring Matsu.

Matsu fumbled, dropping whatever he was holding behind his back.

The parchment hit the floor and the Who's Attacking Me Now pool unrolled across the stone.

Suga just had time to see dozens of red tallies by his own name before Makki hastily dove in front of it and rolled it back up.

"Sorry about that Suga," Matsu said hastily. "We were just, ah-"

"Stopping it," Makki finished firmly. "It's just...not very fun even more."

"Even though destroying it _might_ look like we're covering it up which would make _someone_ look even more guilty," Matsu muttered under his breath.

"Or," Makki protested, shooting his best friend a loaded look, "continuing it will just get more people thinking that so we should-"

"You guys," Suga interrupted quietly. "It's...it's fine." He tried to force a laugh. "It's not like I don't know what people are saying anyway."

Makki and Matsu exchanged a look.

"Yeah, but…" Matsu started, "you know _we_ don't think that. Right, Suga?"

Makki nodded. "You'd never be the Heir."

Suga looked down, letting his hair fall over his eyes. "Thanks."

Matsu gave him a light punch to the arm. "It'll all blow over soon. And, if not, then me and Makki will just have to do something even _crazier_ and give them something new to talk about."

This time Suga did manage a real laugh and Makki smirked at him, stuffing the parchment away in his trunk and sitting on his bed. "Plus, knowing how crazy Oikawa and the rest of you have been lately, the weirdo's either going to find something or read himself into a coma."

Matsu snorted, joining Makki on the bed. "We should make a new bet on that."

Makki grinned. "Matsu, my friend, I like your style."

"Makki, old chum, I'm flattered," Matsu answered, mirroring the expression.

Suga rolled his eyes and fell back on his bed, staring at the canopy over it. The sound of Matsu and Makki trading comments back and forth washed over him and soothed him into something close to meditation, though not true relaxation. In the back of his mind, something still felt like it was screaming at him, was so close to the edge it could break any second and bring Suga down with it.

He curled in his bed, tucking the covers in close and tried-as he had all year-to shut out the panic and focus on his goals. That was the Slytherin way after all.

And Suga supposed that, when it boiled down to it, all he really wanted was his friends-wanted _everyone_ -to be safe and happy.

Was it so bad that he wanted that for himself as well?

ooooooo

A/N: Hey, guys, I finished the chapter early! Thanks everyone, as always, for reading! Things about to get real stressful real soon so enjoy this chapter as a bit of a break!

Next Chapter: Not Right


	18. Not Right

A/N:

PLEASE READ. Some very important notes:

1.) You all are amazing and awesome people and I am grateful for your support with every chapter. Thank you!

2.) Sorry, I'm a bit late. School is a bit crazy right now and I'm out of town a lot next month for work. I am trying hard to avoid taking a week off with chapter updates because there's A LOT of stuff coming up in this story starting with this chapter. However, while I will always try to make the weekend update marks, some chapters might be a bit delayed because of the upcoming travel. If the chapter is delayed, I can assure you am working hard on it and it will be posted as soon as its done. THIS STORY WILL NEVER BE ABANDONED AND I WILL ALWAYS AVOID HIATUS.

3.) **Trigger Warning** for major discussions and actions of prejudice (see end notes for details). No joke with this warning, be careful. With that, I've mentioned this before, but I am a big fan of happy endings. I promise this story (and this series) is never out to hurt you at the end. There will always be fun moments of friendship and magic and all the other lighthearted stuff. But, like the Harry Potter stuff, there is some dark stuff, too-especially in later books. I'm always good to add trigger warnings and if you think I missed one, just tell me.

4.) Shorter chapter but one of the more important chapters in this story. Sorry, it's shorter just weirdly worked out that way based on my story outline *shrugs* Next chapters are longer.

End of Super Long A/N

ooooooo

Suga woke up to the sound of panicked hissing.

 _Speaker! Not safe….Not safe…._

Suga's eyes bolted open. He _knew_ that type of tone.

In front of him, slitted eyes glinting in the sparse light, was a large, fully grown adder snake.

Suga jumped up, panicked, looking around to make sure none of his roommates were awake to witness the massive snake curled comfortably on Suga's sheets.

They weren't- _luckily-_ and he turned back to the snake with wide eyes.

 _What are you doing here,_ Suga hissed as quietly as he could. _Why are you in my room?_

 _Not safe...not safe,_ the snake said back, curling tighter on Suga's bed.

 _Who's not safe,_ Suga asked, alarmed.

 _No one, Speaker,_ the snake answered. _No one is safe. Not right."_

Suga stopped, calming down just enough to take in the snake-how its back was bowed back and ready to strike, how its head kept turning around the room as if looking for something. It was strange. In Suga's experience, snakes could be a bit difficult to understand due to using different words to describe things, but...they still generally spoke in complete sentences. At least, around Suga. For this one not to meant…

The snake was terrified.

 _What's not right_ , Suga asked cautiously. _Please, tell me._

The snake's eyes flew to him. _We see. We see more than your kind. We see when one's not right. When there is danger._

Suga almost interrupted to ask for clarification but the snake spoke again before he could.

 _Your kind is in danger, Speaker,_ the snake hissed. _We see. We listen. We watch. My kind sent me to warn you. You are the only one._

 _I'm the only one who can what,_ Suga asked. _Why me? Because I'm a Speaker?_

The snake shook his head, tongue flickering.

Suddenly, the snake stiffened. _Not right. Not right. I must go, Speaker._

 _Wait,_ Suga said, but the snake was already off the bed and moving quickly across the dark floor almost too fast for Suga's eyes to follow.

 _Goodbye, Speaker._

Suga was left, staring at his room with only the sound of his Makki's snores echoing in his ears. To himself, he wondered how bad something had to be to where even the snakes were warning him?

And even more, who was _not right_?

ooooooo

A later-though still not quite quite _reasonable-_ hour of the morning found Oikawa yawning through another stack of old library tomes.

To be perfectly honest with himself, Oikawa _hated_ early mornings and would much prefer trying to sweet talk one of the library assistant into letting him stay late after the library closed for tonight. However, Oikawa wasn't quite brave or insane enough to risk the wrath of the entirety of his friend group by staying out past curfew.

Plus, more recently, Hara Naroko-an oddly persistent fifth year Gryffindor-had been insistent on spending more time with him at dinner. A fact that Oikawa found more than a bit strange.

It wasn't like her attention seemed _malicious_ or anything. Even the more paranoid side of Oikawa wasn't worried she was planning something bad or going to attack him or something crazy like that-and Kuroo could call Oikawa crazy all he wanted, but his paranoid side had been _right_ about Sora.

Still...Oikawa couldn't get over the idea that Hara Naroko had some kind of ulterior motive in asking him out, even if it wasn't directly malicious. She just seemed too oddly intent about all of this. She didn't seem exactly enamored, like Nametsu Mai had been, and Oikawa had fun when they went to Hogsmeade together that one time- _not_ the same place he'd been with Mai, thank you.

Oikawa mentally shrugged. It was weird but it wasn't like it was hurting him and, frankly, he really didn't have time to worry about it.

He turned another page in the book, only to find another _way too detailed_ bit of wizarding history containing more than a few disembowelments by curse.

Great. Exactly what Oikawa wanted to read before breakfast.

He skimmed the page, trying to find any curses that were similar to the petrifications.

"Hey, hey," a voice called and Oikawa looked up to find Bokuto joining him at the table. "Why are you here so early?"

"Reading about gruesome murders," Oikawa said easily. "You?"

"Studying with Akaashi," Bokuto answered. "He said he was too busy last night."

Oikawa nodded, before squinting down at what Bokuto had slung on the table.

"Is that a new bag," Oikawa asked, wondering if the misshapen patched monstrosity could really be counted as _anything._

Bokuto smiled, pleased. "It is! Akaashi asked me to hang on to it for him. He's working on it for a Transfiguration project."

"It's hideous," Oikawa told him honestly, trying to figure out why in the world the bag looked almost familiar.

"Yeah," Bokuto said fondly, "Akaashi's definitely got some work to do."

Bokuto patted the bag lightly and Oikawa could've sworn the bag _glared_ at them.

He shook his head, blinking to clear his eyes.

With a considering thunk, Oikawa shut his book and decided then and there that he was getting some more sleep.

ooooooo

"-ga...um, Suga? Are you listening?"

"Hmm," Suga said, head shooting up and blinking away the mental fog to focus. "Yes, Hinata, that sounds great."

Hinata gave him a weird look, pausing with a small vial held over the bubbling cauldron. "Er, okay."

Suga sighed. "Sorry, what did you ask again?"

"If adding the salamander blood will make it explode," Hinata repeated and Suga paled, grabbing the vial and moving it far, _far_ away from the cauldron.

"Yes, it would," Suga said, glancing at the vial with trepidation. "Rather massively based on the quantity. Good catch."

Hinata beamed and continued his stirring. "Thanks, Suga!" He glanced up. "Um, by the way, I was meaning to ask...are you okay?"

"I'm fine" Suga answered quickly, maybe too quickly as Hinata didn't look at all reassured.

"It's just you seem really distracted lately." Hinata's face scrunched up, continuing blithely. "And you keep sighing….and you have these really, big, dark circles under your eyes...and-"

"Alright," Suga interrupted him, almost sighing again before he stopped himself. "Just a lot on my mind. Nothing to worry about."

"Because of the rumors," Hinata asked, grimacing sympathetically.

"Among other things," Suga prevaricated, thinking about his early morning scaly visitor.

"Don't worry about them, Suga," Hinata said, offering him a grin while he put the finishing touches on the potion. "No one could ever think you're the one petrifying people once they get to know you!"

Suga tried to take that sentiment as the comfort that Hinata surely meant it and told himself that the sickly roll of his stomach must be something he ate at lunch.

"If they give me that chance," muttered Suga quietly.

Not quietly enough not to be overheard, apparently.

Hinata frowned. "What do you mean?"

Suga fiddled with his wand, figuring out his phrasing. "I just mean...that not everyone wants to give people a chance...some people...some people would rather just take the easy route."

"What's the easy route," Hinata asked.

"Hatred," Suga answered bluntly. "Why bother giving someone a chance when you've already figured out enough to hate them."

"Why would they…," Hinata said, sounding confused. "Why?"

Suga shrugged, helping Hinata pack up the rest of his things and wondering where in the castle he could go to find some quiet. Somewhere without the whispered rumors.

"No, wait, Suga," Hinata said as Suga started walking them to the door. "How could anyone just decide to hate someone without even knowing them? Why would anyone do that? That's not fair. It's not right."

Suga gave in to the sigh, steering Hinata down the hall. "No, it's not. But then again, there's a reason the Giant never had problems recruiting."

ooooooo

Early evening at Hogwarts was always Daichi's favorite time.

He breathed out slowly, feeling the still chilly wind of early spring blow across his face as he flew aimlessly around the pitch. A light drizzle still meandered down as a reminder of the earlier storm but the clouds had finally cleared enough that a muted orange sunset could be seen over the mountains.

There was a peacefulness here that Daichi enjoyed, especially the brief moments he could fly alone.

Daichi landed back on the grass below, feeling a touch more calm than he'd been when he'd arrived. He headed to the changing rooms, quickly shrugging out of the damp clothes and back into his dry school robes before heading off to the dinning hall.

And colliding into someone coming the opposite way.

Daichi held on before they both fell and he felt steadying hands on his chest before looking down to see bright silver hair.

"We've really got to stop meeting like this." He smiled.

Suga laughed, sounding surprised. This close, Daichi could see the dark circles under his eyes.

"At least that's two for two of you catching me," Suga said, softly.

"Of course," Daichi answered. "So, what brings you all the way out to the Quidditch pitch?"

"Oh." Suga blushed, fidgeting slightly and Daichi belatedly realized he was still holding Suga's shoulders. "Ah, actually I came down here because I assumed...with the rain...it would still be fairly deserted. Less chance of seeing people who...well, I suppose I should have expected that Gryffindor's brave Keeper wouldn't let a little thing like the weather keep him from practicing."

Daichi rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, I don't know if it was really _practicing_. I was more just...um, flying to fly."

"It seemed really graceful," Suga said, glancing down with an absent smile. "Like watching a bird. You looked relaxed."

"I didn't know you were watching." Daichi wondered why his voice had gotten quieter.

Suga blush deepened. "Oh, ah, well, I promise it wasn't like, um…..anyway, I just saw you when I was walking out so I stopped for a bit and...well...like I said, watching you fly is relaxing."

Daichi smiled, feeling inexplicably warm. "Glad I could help then."

Suga looked up and their eyes met-Daichi smiling softly and Suga hesitantly answering it.

The moment hung suspended as fragile and delicate as levitating spun glass.

At once, Daichi felt like he could feel everything. The warm light of the sunset bathed Suga's face in pleasant oranges and yellows-catching up in the silver in his hair and the sudden ease around his eyes. Under Daichi's hands, the tension in Suga's shoulders had relaxed and it almost felt like the other teenager was leaning into his hands rather than just holding steady. The chill of the wind raised goosebumps on Daichi's arms.

 _Maybe..._

Daichi inclined his head closer, reaching in and never breaking eye contact.

Closer and...almost…...and...

"We're going to be late for dinner," Suga said suddenly.

Daichi leaned back.

He glanced down at his watch and fought back a grimace. "...Yeah, we should probably head down."

Suga nodded and for a second, Daichi thought he saw something like disappointment echo across his face. In another second it was gone and he was staring down the hall.

Daichi caught up to walk beside him.

Suga looked up, surprised. "Daichi, are you sure you want to walk in with me? I don't exactly have the best reputation right now."

Daichi glanced back, brushing his arm into Suga's because it was all he could do to stop himself from holding his hand.

"Trust me, Suga. There's nowhere I'd rather be."

ooooooo

This time Hinata made sure to throw off the cloak _before_ stepping into the owlery. Some of the birds still gave him dirty looks from last time, one owl even hooting reproachfully before Karasuna cawed at her.

Hinata laughed, settling down on the cold stone and scratching under Karasuna's chin when she landed on her shoulder.

"Hey, look two days in a row.," Hinata said, pulling out the diary. "I think Kageyama and Yachi are starting to warm up to the cloak idea."

Karasuna pecked at the cloak skeptically, turning back to Hinata with a look that clearly told him _she_ wouldn't be so easy to convince.

Hinata grinned. "You worry too much."

Karasuna turned up her beak with an affronted squawk, flying up to land on the ledge instead.

Hinata shook his head, opening up the diary to hide his smile.

"February 7, 1942."

 _Dear Descendants,_

 _Something terrible has happened._

With that, the diary pulled him in so quickly there was almost a sense of urgency to the pages. Hinata barely even had time to feel dizzy before he found himself in the Slytherin common room, right next to an agitated Hisashi.

Hisashi paced back and forth in front of the window, stopping every few seconds to eye the closed door before his frown deepened and the pacing started again.

Hinata sat down, confused as the ritual continued for several more minutes.

Eventually, the door opened hesitantly to reveal a pale faced Ichiro and Hisashi rushed at his friend.

"There you are! Where have you been? Professor Ukai wouldn't tell me anything until today and that was only that you were coming back tonight! It's been five days, Ichiro! _Where were you?_ "

Ichiro didn't answer, merely drifting past Hisashi like a ghost to sit quietly on the bed.

"Ichiro," Hisashi said and now the panic was even more pronounced in his voice. He came to sit beside his friend, pulling him around to look at him. "Ichiro, what is it? What's wrong?"

Ichiro let out a stuttering breath, finally meeting Hisashi's eyes. "It's my brother. It's Eiji."

"What about your brother," Hisashi prompted, voice soft.

"He's...Eiji is…." Ichiro looked down, breaking eye contact to focus on his hands. "He's dead. Eiji is dead."

Hisashi breathed in sharply. "What? _How?_ Was it the war you were talking about?"

Ichiro shook his head hair brushing down around his eyes. "No...well, not directly." He sighed. "You don't understand, Hisashi. You don't know what it's like out there. How much they _hate_ anyone that's different. Especially now that there's a war…." Ichiro looked up and now there was a deep anger in his eyes, the dark kind that was fueled by pain more than any logic. "They always hated us-the _freaks_ of the orphanage. Eiji doesn't understand. He always thinks-"

Ichiro stopped suddenly and his hands gripped at his side, coming up to wrap around himself. "Some of the older kids-enlisted now, somewhere in the army-caught up with him. They've given him trouble before but this time...this time it was bad. _Too_ bad and there wasn't anything I could...there was nothing else I…"

Ichiro scrapped a hand across his face, taking large steadying breaths. "My brother's gone."

Hisashi didn't say anything, reaching his arms around the other teenager and drawing him in. Ichiro went willingly, shuddering as he did so.

"I'm sorry, Ichiro," Hisashi whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"How could they...to _Eiji..._ how could they," Ichiro muttered, gripping Hisashi's shoulders. "Just because….just because he was _different_ and they _hated_ him for it. They….they…."

"They're terrible," Hisashi finished and Ichiro nodded jerkily. "Eiji should never have had to deal with them in the first place."

"He shouldn't have," Ichiro agreed, shoulders hitching. "No one should. They….people like that….they're not even human. They're...they're just monsters."

Ichiro's shoulders hitched again and his voice broke, turning back and letting out a sob into Hisashi's shoulder. "Hisashi, I'm never going to see my brother again."

He let out a breath, leaning back with a stunned expression.

"Hisashi…" Ichiro said, struggling and gasping to catch his breath. "I don't have my brother anymore...I don't….I don't have _anyone._ I'm alone."

Hisashi moved closer, putting an arm around Ichiro and pulling him back in.

"No, Ichiro, you'll never be alone. You'll always have me."

Ichiro relaxed, almost bonelessly falling into Hisashi's grip. He turned his head to rest on Hisashi's shoulder, tears slowly falling down.

"I just don't understand. How could anyone hate Eiji like that? It's not….Hisashi, it's not right."

ooooooo

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A/N:

Trigger Warnings:

(1) Discussion of prejudice in tutoring session with Suga. If want to skip stop at "If they give met that chance" and start back at "Early evening at Hogwarts". This one is more mild than the later one

(2) In the diary section, Ichiro discusses his brothers death due to muggle bullies. Lots of discussion of prejudices and unjustified hatred. Stop reading at "Dear Descendants". It's the final scene of the chapter.

For everyone, thanks for reading and thanks for your support. I promise not EVERYTHING will be this dark but some more dark stuff ahead as we reach the final part of this story. I'm always good about warning for "Major Character Death" and the like so just keep that in mind.

Next Chapter: Friends and Family


	19. Friends and Family

"Shouyou? Are you up here?"

A sharp caw answered Kenma's question and the familiar sight of Hinata's crow flew towards him, grabbing on to his robe and pulling him forward into the owlery.

Where one easily recognizable orange head was bent over with a closed diary sitting next to him.

"There you are," Kenma said, coming forward. "You weren't at dinner. Yachi, Kageyama, Lev, and I've been trying to find you for over an hour."

"Sorry," came the whispered reply.

Kenma tilted his head. Hinata was never that quiet.

"Why weren't you at dinner," Kenma asked, carefully lowering himself down beside Hinata.

Hinata's shoulders moved up in an imitation of a shrug, head still bowed down. "Lost track of time, I guess. Sorry….didn't mean to worry you."

"Shouyou," Kenma said, reaching a hand out to grab his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Hinata looked up, allowing Kenma to see the tears running down his cheeks.

"I just don't understand, Kenma," Hinata said, wiping at his eyes. "Suga tried to tell me but I still don't get it."

"Get what," Kenma pressed. "Is this about the diary?"

At the word, Hinata seemed to flinch before slowly nodding.

"Is it the Heir," Kenma asked, heart beating faster. "Did you find out about the Heir?"

"No," Hinata said, shaking his head and seeming more distressed. "It's….it's….they _killed_ him."

"Killed _who_ ," stressed Kenma, leaning in and trying ineffectively to calm Hinata down. "Who's him? Who killed someone?"

"The brother," Hinata shouted, chest heaving. "From the diary. There was a boy and he...he _died._ He got attacked by some bullies and they killed him. Because….because his brother was like _us_ ….like _me,_ a muggleborn..."

After that, Hinata trailed off into silence-wrapping his arms around his legs and staring off at the sky.

Kenma watched, uncertain what to do.

Hinata spoke again before Kenma could decide.

"At the orphanage….at _my_ orphanage," Hinata specified, still looking off. "They didn't hate me or anything….They think I'm weird and were happy when I went off to Hogwarts, but…" Hinata shrugged. "It's nothing like….nothing like that."

Hinata turned to Kenma. "I don't understand. I don't understand _at all_ , Kenma. How could anyone _feel_ like that? How could anyone hate someone like that? I don't….I don't think I'll ever understand."

Hinata curled in tighter and Kenma decided to act.

Slowly and more than a little awkwardly, he put an arm around Hinata and drew the smaller boy closer.

"That's okay, Shouyou," Kenma said, quietly. "You don't have to understand. You're just too good of a person."

"What if I _do_ have to understand," Hinata asked, looking down. "What if I don't get a choice?"

"There's always a choice," Kenma told him.

Hinata looked up at him. "Kenma, I don't want to hate anyone. Ever _._ I _can't._ "

Kenma looked back, meeting eyes in a way the older boy usually avoided.

"Then don't."

ooooo

Sitting down for breakfast, Suga unexpectedly felt arms wrap around his shoulders and head prop against his back.

"Sustain me, Suga," Oikawa moaned. "The early morning….it's _killing_ me."

Suga gave a wane smile, about to comment further before he broke out in a loud yawn.

"Oh, wait, never mind. This was a terrible idea," Oikawa said, drawing back from Suga's shoulders and looking at him critically. "You look even tireder than _me_. How much sleep did you get?"

Suga shrugged helplessly.

"You know, Suga," Oikawa commented idly. "You _are_ one of the top students in healing and potions. I'm pretty sure you could brew up some Dreamless Sleep potion _in your sleep_...not that it looks like you've been able to test that for awhile."

Suga frowned. "I can't. Dreamless Sleep's bad in prolonged use."

"So is sleep deprivation," Oikawa drawled, raising an eyebrow. "More importantly, why do you think this may be a 'prolonged use.'"

Suga sighed and gestured around vaguely at the crowds in the dining hall, some already whispering and pointing. "I don't see this going away anytime soon."

"That's what you think," Oikawa said, bumping shoulders with Suga. He reached over grabbing an apple and a scone from the plates and wrapping the later in a napkin. "You severely underestimate my researching skills. I'm just here to get a quick bite then I'm going back to the creepy old books."

"Again," Suga asked, surprised "You've already been there most of the morning."

"Yes, but I'm close to something this time. I can feel it," Oikawa said, biting into the apple with a flourish.

Suga laughed, hiding a hint of real panic. "Are you becoming psychic now like Bokuto?"

Oikawa snorted. "Considering Bokuto told me his latest prediction involved a mountain troll being elected the next minister, I think it's safe to say I might be at least as psychic." Oikawa took another bite of the apple, pausing to think. After he was done, he shrugged. "It's not any divination prediction though, there's something _there_. Something I'm close, too. Like looking at a puzzle."

Suga didn't say anything and Oikawa gave him a comforting smile. "Whatever happens though, we'll find out who the real Heir is, Suga. I promise."

"I hope you don't," Suga said before he could stop himself.

Oikawa's face was just shifting to perplexed before Suga hastily corrected himself. "I mean I hope you don't overwork yourself just for me. I want you to be okay, too."

Oikawa laughed, standing up and flicking Suga's head lightly. "Same old Suga. Stop being so selfless. We're your friends, it's what we're supposed to do."

With that, Oikawa gave him one last jaunty wave and headed out of the Great Hall.

 _But how long will you be my friend,_ Suga thought morosely. _How long until you find out?_

The constant tension in Suga's head reached a boiling point, screaming out as he tried to fight down the panic without letting it show on his face. He let out one single harsh breath, trying to calm his heartbeat.

He didn't want any of this. He wanted everyone to be okay. He didn't want Oikawa finding out. He didn't want to lose his friends.

He wanted….

Well, it seemed like lately Suga wanted a lot of things he couldn't have.

Unbidden, the memory of a kind smile and warm hands on his shoulders rose up and he quickly pushed it away.

The sound of a throat clearing made Suga look up, only to see the shy face of Asahi looking down.

Suga swallowed, managing a smile that he hoped looked friendly enough.

"Do you mind if we sit with you," he asked, gesturing to Noya and Yamaguchi beside him.

"Go ahead," Suga said, looking around before frowning. "Where's the rest of your group? I don't think I've ever seen just a few of you before."

Yamaguchi laughed. "Yeah, I guess you could say we're the only early risers."

Asahi smiled wryly. "Well, technically I'm _not_ a morning person. Noya just woke me up early. _Again._ "

Noya pouted. "But, Asahi, it has to be you. Tanaka and Daichi threatened to curse me if I tried it again."

Asahi rolled his eyes, fondly. "Anyway, we saw you sitting alone so we thought we'd join you."

Yamaguchi nodded, offering a small smile. "You looked sad."

"Oh…" Suga said quietly, looking back down at his plate. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry you."

"Pft, it's fine," Noya reassured him. "Everyone's got their sad times. Although," Noya wiggled his eyebrows outrageously. "You know what would help your sadness? Dai-"

Yamaguchi's hand slapped over Noya's mouth.

"Darkness," Yamaguchi said firmly. "Noya meant to say 'darkness'. Darkness is great for sadness."

Beside him, Asahi face-palmed while Noya struggled around Yamaguchi's hand.

Suga blinked and reminded himself once again that Daichi's friends were strange, _strange_ people.

"I'll keep that in mind," Suga said, ever the diplomat.

Noya finally fought off Yamaguchi and enthusiastically began filling his plate, twisting up to talk to Suga as he did. "So, petrification stuff's still weird, ain't it?"

"Noya," Asahi said in warning, face still buried in his hands.

"What I didn't say we thought _Suga_ was the one behind it or anything." He turned and winked at Suga. "We don't, by the way!"

"...Thank you," Suga said when it became clear Noya was expecting some kind of response.

Noya nodded, beaming and waved his fork through the air. "Really, if you think about it all the stupid rumor stuff is doing is throwing everyone off the real question."

"What's the real question," Yamaguchi asked, curiously.

"What's the point," Noya said with a shrug before continuing to eat his breakfast.

The rest of the group stopped, looking to Noya for further explanation before they realized that was his answer.

"What do you mean 'what's the point,'" Asahi prompted.

"I mean what's the why," answered Noya in between bites, blithely unaware of Yamaguchi mouthing the question in bafflement behind him. "It's like animals and magical creatures, you know? Everything's got a why. If they're hungry, they'll find something to eat. If they're scared, they'll attack. When you know the why of it, you can figure out the what. Humans are just…" Noya scrunched up his face. "They're less straightforward about their why's….Point is, with the petrifications, everyone keeps worrying about the who to find out the what when they should be asking about the why. That's how these things work."

"Wait, aren't _we_ looking at the who," Yamaguchi whispered to Noya. "You know with the-"

"Nah, we're still trying to find the what," Noya said, now digging into his breakfast with a passion. "Completely different."

Suga blinked. "I think...you've lost me."

"Don't worry about it," Asahi said, confidingly. " _Trust me_. Once you get sucked in to Noya and Tanaka's schemes, there's no escape."

"Awww," Noya grinned, "thanks, Asahi. That's so sweet!"

Asahi laughed and Suga found himself smiling.

Daichi's friends were definitely strange but Suga found that he liked them.

He turned down to his plate, thinking.

 _The why, not the who…_

 _ooooo_

That afternoon, Iwaizumi lazily observed Oikawa's look of utter and complete focus.

Oikawa's eyes flickered to assess their target, hand tensed and at the ready. His jaw firm and stiff in concentration, so much that Iwaizumi could almost hear teeth grinding.

Oikawa took a steadying breath, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead.

He acted.

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes.

"You do know you are literally _just_ watering the plant today, right," Iwaizumi asked. "Like, seriously, I even already replanted and pruned it. You're _just watering it._ "

"Hush, Iwa-chan," Oikawa said, tilting his head and spraying the plant yet again. "I'm trying to attune myself with nature."

"If you keep 'attuning yourself', you're going to over water it," Iwaizumi huffed.

Oikawa blinked up at him, hand immediately still on the water bottle, as his expression turned vaguely terrified.

"Merlin help me," Iwaizumi said, wrestling the bottle away from Oikawa. "It's a good thing Professor Shimada includes a written portion for this class."

Just because he could, Iwaizumi sprayed the water at Oikawa, smirking as Oikawa spluttered and stuck out his tongue.

"Rude, Iwa-chan!"

"Yeah, yeah," Iwaizumi said, putting away the bottle and levitating the plant to sit in better sunlight. The flower let out a low thrill in satisfaction.

He turned to Oikawa. "Come on, you took so long watering, I think everyone else has already gone to lunch."

Oikawa looked around as if just noticing that they were the only ones left in the greenhouse. "Wait, even Suga?"

"He left with Makki and Matsu like fifteen minutes ago," Iwaizumi told him.

"Huh," Oikawa said absently, drifting behind Iwaizumi as they left the greenhouse. "I must be more out of it than I thought."

Starting up toward the castle, Iwaizumi gave him a critical look.

"You know you can always take a night off, right," Iwaizumi asked, dryly. "It's not like it'll hurt anything? The Heir's not lurking in the shadows waiting for you take a break."

Oikawa grinned before slipping into an over dramatic ominous voice. "You never know. They could be…"

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes again. "Or, hey, here's a novel idea, let one of us help you. It's not like any of the rest of us are getting any further on our research. I'll come with you."

Oikawa shook his head, yawning.

His eyes drifted absently up to the forest, missing Iwaizumi's glare.

"Why not," Iwaizumi asked.

"It's safer alone," Oikawa mumbled, distracted.

Iwaizumi stopped walking. A few steps later, Oikawa seemed to notice-stopping as well and looking at him in confusion.

"What do you mean 'it's safer alone'," Iwaizumi demanded.

Iwaizumi caught Oikawa's eyes widen slightly before it was replaced by his usual cocky grin.

"Nothing," Oikawa answered, blithely. "Come on, Iwa-chan. I'm starving!"

"What do you mean," Iwaizumi repeated between clenched teeth.

Oikawa sighed, looking annoyed. " _Nothing_ , Iwa-chan. Now, let's go."

"Oikawa, I swear," Iwaizumi growled. "If you have some dumb, insane plan about….I don't even know then-"

"Maybe I just don't want your help," Oikawa said, voice strained. "Maybe I just want to think through this alone. Okay?"

"Bullshit," Iwaizumi snapped back. "Stop being an idiot!"

"I'm not being an idiot! I'm trying to-" Oikawa cut himself off, taking a deep breath. "I told you I know what I'm doing. You said you'd trust me."

"Well, maybe I don't as much as I thought I did," Iwaizumi ground out. "Because when it comes to taking care of yourself, you're a dumbass. And I can't protect you if you keep-"

" _Stop,_ " Oikawa yelled and Iwaizumi did before he even fully comprehended it himself.

Oikawa took another breath, lowering his voice to a whisper and leaning closer to Iwaizumi.

"Not everything you can protect, Hajime."

With that, Oikawa turned, quickly heading up for the stairs instead of the path that led directly to the Great Hall.

"I changed my mind," Oikawa called back without looking. "I'm not hungry anymore; I think I'll go to the library instead."

Iwaizumi stood, still breathing heavy as he watched Oikawa move further away.

"Oikawa…"

"Bye, Iwa-chan."

ooooo

"You sure you don't want to take a break from this, Hinata," Yachi asked, concerned. "Kenma said you were really upset earlier."

Sitting on his bed and staring down at the diary, Hinata nodded. "No...I think I need to do this. It'll only get harder to go back if I wait."

"Who says you have to go back," Kageyama pointed out from the floor below him. "You don't even know if he'll mention anything about the Heir again. Just quit."

"No," Hinata said immediately, already shaking his head. "I can't. I want to know what happens."

Yachi frowned, coming over to stand at Hinata's other side. "Alright...but this time, just stay here, okay? We'll be with you when you get done."

Hinata smiled, feeling a warm rush of gratitude for the two people beside him.

"Thanks," Hinata said and with a sense of decisiveness, opened the diary.

"August 8, 1943."

Inky words started to appear and in the corner of his eyes, Hinata caught Yachi leaning in-probably unconsciously-to read over his shoulder.

 _Dear Descendants,_

 _Sorry, it's been awhile. Life has been rather hectic lately. I'm sure I can guess the subject of your first question already and, being honest, I can't give you an answer._

 _I'm not sure how Ichiro is doing._

 _The morning after he returned, he insisted on going to classes as if nothing had happened and amazingly, I don't think anyone except myself and possibly Professor Ukai have even the slightest hint something was wrong._

 _He's quieter now though. More contemplative, too. He hasn't been sleeping well. I almost thought about calling a Healer but Ichiro assured me he'll be fine in a bit. We'll see._

 _He's thrown himself into our political gambits with even more of a fervor than normal-something I would have thought to be impossible if I wasn't witnessing it currently. It seems to serve well as a distraction and in talking through and arguing our plans, he seems almost happy again._

 _Still, I'm worried about him. Selfishly, I'm worried that I'll never see the old Ichiro again-the one who smiled and laughed more often. Sometimes, when it's only the two of us, Ichiro looks lost and I'm not sure what to do._

 _I invited him to live here in the family manor and thankfully, he accepted. We're only a few weeks away from our final year at Hogwarts-a fact that is still somewhat incomprehensible. I'm not sure how this year will go. I'm not sure what to do. Frankly, my descendants, for an Heir of Ancient and Noble House, I find that there is shockingly little I am sure about._

 _I am sure I need do something though._

 _I think though...I think the choice I've made today is right. I think it might have a chance of helping him. If nothing else, I think it's helping me._

 _If nothing else, I now have hope._

Hinata braced himself for the pull and disorientation, waiting until the world settled around him again as a quiet sitting room with sun streaming through the windows.

Ichiro was sitting by the window, occupied with a pile of parchments, when Hisashi strolled into the room.

Ichiro briefly glanced up. "You're back. How was it?"

Hisashi shrugged, taking the seat across from him. "Fine, I suppose. The house elves just planted violets around the headstones. Father would've approved. They were mother's favorite."

"That sounds nice," Ichiro said.

Hisashi shifted in his seat. "You know….if you'd like we could move Eiji's body here. You mentioned your local cemetery wasn't much to look at. At least, this one you could visit easier."

Ichiro sat the papers down, regarding his friend. "It's fine, Hisashi. It's...it's not like the location changes anything. Besides, yours is a family cemetery, right?"

"Not like stuff like that matters much when I'm the only one left," Hisashi muttered. "You're already the closest thing I have to family now anyway."

"Same here," Ichiro said, offering a half smile and closing an eye.

"Might as well just make you official part of the family at this point," Hisashi continued absently.

Ichiro hummed.

Hisashi stopped, jerking to sit up right. "Wait a second. Why don't I _actually_ make you part of the Noroi family?"

Ichiro creaked an eye open. "Hisashi, if you're asking me to marry you, that's a piss poor proposal."

"No," Hisashi said, waving dismissively with one hand and reaching out to shake Ichiro with the other. "Not marriage! I mean by _magic._ I'm the Head of the Noroi family, I could officially make you a member."

"Why," Ichiro asked, still looking mostly confused. "What would be the point? It's like you said we're already pretty much all we've got."

"See and that's why," Hisashi insisted. "I don't have any other family members. If something happened to me-"

"Which it won't," Ichiro put in, practically as a demand.

"-before I have any Heirs, all of this stuff either reverts back to those power hungry goblins or gets taken up by the Ministry," Hisashi turned to Ichiro, eyes almost desperate. "This way though...it all works out. The magic would recognize you as a Noroi so you'd get the house and all the titles and everything else we've been working on building for years. And I'd….I'd know that even if something happened to me, that my family's work would still be with someone I trust."

At the end, before Ichiro could even open his mouth to argue, Hisashi's mouth twisted up into a small little smile. "After all, it's like I said, you're practically family already."

Hisashi stopped and a tense sort of silence permeated the room, waiting for Ichiro's answer.

As for himself, Ichiro looked almost lost, hesitant and unsure but with some kind of light behind his eyes that wasn't there before.

Finally, he smiled and a indescribable weight seemed to lift, taking some of the shadows in his eyes with it.

"Family, then," Ichiro asked with just a hint of the familiar laughter back.

"Family," Hisashi answered.

The surroundings faded and Hinata found himself once again looking down at the diary.

He shook his head, looking down to see that Hisashi hadn't written anything more except his usual sign off.

"Hinata," Yachi called to him, cautiously. "Is everything okay?"

Beside her, Kageyama assessed him, nodding when he seemed to see something in Hinata's expression.

Hinata smiled. "Yeah...I think, I think everything might be alright."

ooooo

Sitting in a forgotten back corner of the library, Oikawa's stomach growled loudly as its owner frowned. In retrospect, he was willing to admit it might not have been his _best_ plan to only grab a small sandwich for dinner in an effort to avoid Iwaizumi. Especially, after skipping lunch.

Oikawa rubbed his eyes, carefully turning another page and feeling the old parchment under his fingers.

He supposed he could always run by the kitchen and ask the elves for some food. That wouldn't be too out of the way. That would be one problem dealt with.

 _That still leaves the other problem,_ sounded a pesky responsible voice in the back of his head that sounded a bit too much like Suga.

Oikawa massaged his temples, already feeling the upcoming headache.

I was...maybe...possible that Oikawa _might_ have reacted a bit harshly earlier. Possibly. There was at least a chance there.

 _He's just trying to look out for you._

 _But he can't,_ Oikawa thought back before shaking his head because he was basically arguing with himself. Anyway, the point still stood. Iwaizumi couldn't protect him from this and Oikawa wasn't going to allow him to be in more danger for something that was doomed to fail anyway.

Now, all he needed to do was convince Iwaizumi of that...Without, of course, telling him _any_ of the reasons behind that which would no doubt only worry Iwaizumi more.

Honestly, as if being a target of a crazy blood supremacist straight out of a legend wasn't enough to deal with.

Oikawa rolled his eyes, focusing on the page in front of him in order to drown out his thoughts.

In front of him was one of the older books that Hogwarts had to offer-barely holding together even under half a dozen preservation charms. Oikawa was fairly sure no one had even touched in at least a couple of centuries.

On the surface, the book seemed harmless enough. Only a collection of old legends and histories that Hogwarts didn't even think worthy of putting in the Restricted section. However, if this year had taught Oikawa anything, it was that legends often held more truth than they appeared.

Plus even Hogwarts wasn't quite _insane_ enough to allow their students access to books with they though had the kind of dark magic that would cause petrifications. Put it under the guise of a storybook though….Even the darkest of magic could be shown as a fairy tale.

Oikawa's eyes caught across the next title in a brief flare of recognition.

He snorted, reading closer. Time to see what childhood story he was going to be traumatized with this time.

He scanned down the tale, grimacing as he went, while mentally taking note of details that were similar though not _quite_ matching up with the current cases of petrifications.

Oikawa sighed, getting ready to move on to the next one. Really, why couldn't his House's founder picked a little bit more _mundane_ curse to terrify future generations with. Why something as infuriating specific as petrifications. It was almost like-

Oikawa paused, fingers freezing in the middle of turning the page.

 _No…._ Oikawa thought, turning back to the page while frantically digging around his bag for a spare piece of parchment. _It can't be that._

Oikawa bent down over the story, gears turning in his head as pieces started to fall in place.

 _It would work,_ Oikawa thought in a cold rush of realization. _Merlin, it would be insane but with this, it could actually be done. He could do it._

He frowned.

 _But why wouldn't they be..._

Mentally, he started listing through the petrifications, trying to find the connection. No...trying to find the possibility.

It was there. Slight, but the pieces fit.

 _Why though?_

The Heir. It had to have been the Heir. With this spell, they're the only ones that could make it work like that.

 _For what motive?_

That...that Oikawa still couldn't figure out.

Oikawa's hand gripped around his wand, pulling the parchment up next to the book and muttering a copying spell.

His heart hammered in his chest as he picked up his quill, underlining and circling sections of the paper as he turned over the questions.

It made sense. It made a horrible kind of sense with an answer that raised almost as many questions as it solved, but this could be it.

 _No,_ this was it. Oikawa knew it in his bones.

….He had to tell someone. The Headmaster. His Head of House. _Anyone._

Merlin, it's a wonder no one had died yet.

 _Not a coincidence though_ , Oikawa thought, scrambling to put away his things and sling his bag over his shoulders. _The Heir was behind this. This proved it._

Oikawa nearly ran out of the library, ignoring the strange looks the library assistant gave him.

His footsteps echoed in the empty hallways and his lungs burned as he skidded down another corner-wand in one hand and the parchment copy clenched in the other.

What time was it? Would the Headmaster still be in his office?

Oikawa looked at his watch, gauging how much time it would take to reach the Headmaster tower.

The candle light caught the watch face along with a flash of bright yellow coming towards him.

 _Oh,_ Oikawa thought reflexively...

...and then he thought no more.

ooooo

A/N: He's not dead, I promise! Thanks, as always, for all your support.

Next Chapter: Small Comforts


	20. Small Comforts

Sitting at the dinner table, Iwaizumi pushed the last bits of food around the plate-too irritated to feel much like eating it.

Across from him, Kuroo rolled his eyes. "Relax. It's not like Oikawa's going to avoid you forever."

"He might," Iwaizumi insisted obstinately. "He's stubborn like that."

Kuroo gave him a flat look. "Okay, let me repeat. Oikawa's not going to avoid _you_ forever. Just give him some time to get over whatever fight you guys had and you'll be right back to wanting strangle him in no time."

"I'm confused," Bokuto put in. "Is wanting to strangle Oikawa a good sign or bad?"

"With Iwaizumi, definitely good," Kuroo explained, ignoring Iwaizumi's glare.

"He's being an idiot," Iwaizumi said.

Beside him, Suga shrugged. "Maybe….but he did say he was close to finding something."

Paradoxically, this statement only made Suga shrink even more into himself-casting wayward glances at the few students still whispering and staring at him. Iwaizumi twisted in his seat to scowl at them, apparently putting his aggravation to good use as several of them paled and hurriedly looked away.

Suga smiled slightly in gratitude.

"Think about it this way," Kuroo commented, pushing aside his empty plate and standing. "The sooner Oikawa or one of us finds something, the sooner Oikawa can stop doing whatever dumb thing you think he's doing."

"Pointless," Iwaizumi said, heaving his bag on his shoulder. "Oikawa's _always_ doing something dumb."

"Then, look at it _this_ way," Bokuto pointed out with a grin, standing up and having Suga join him. "Oikawa _can't_ avoid you for too long. The Quidditch game's this weekend. He _has_ to be at that."

Kuroo snorted. "There. See, Iwaizumi, once again you're saved by the all powerful grace of Quidditch."

"I don't know why you said that sarcastically," Bokuto muttered as the group turned out of the Great Hall. Bokuto looked around with a frown. "Huh, it _is_ a bit weird Oikawa's not back from the library yet. It's getting kind of late."

"He's probably in the dorm," Suga suggested, shooting an apologetic glance at Iwaizumi who huffed in annoyance.

"Mr. Sugawara."

Iwaizumi plus the others looked up at the Headmaster striding towards them. The Headmaster looked to rest of the group before nodding. "Good, you're all here."

"Headmaster Ukai," Suga answered and Iwaizumi felt a shiver go up his spine

Something….something was wrong.  
"I need you to come with me to the Hospital Wing," Headmaster Ukai said, face grim. "All of you."

Iwaizumi's heart started hammering. "What's wrong?"

It wasn't….

By the looks of the others, Iwaizumi wasn't the only one thinking it.

The Headmaster gestured for them to start walking. "I'll let Nekomata explain."

The entirely silent walk to the Hospital Wing was simultaneously too long and much too short. It was only once they were inside-the Headmaster shutting the door heavily behind them-that Iwaizumi realized he hadn't been in this part of the castle all year.

It was eerie, now. The beds on the right side of the room all had white curtains drawn completely allowing not even a glance behind them. The curtains weren't thick enough to block the light through. A candle shone on the other side to illuminate silhouettes of completely still figures propped in the beds like statues.

The only sound coming from the Hospital Wing was the measured cadence of Professor Nekomata's shoes coming towards them.

Nekomata regarded them with dark eyes that held just the beginnings of condolence.

And Iwaizumi...and Iwaizumi _knew_ before the Mediwizard could even say a word.

"Earlier this evening, Tooru Oikawa was found petrified near the library."

There was a pause and then…

"What," Kuroo choked out. "Who...How?"

Feeling oddly distant, Iwaizumi turned to regard his friends. Suga had his hands over his mouth, breath coming out harsh and quick in a way that echoed through the faint buzz in Iwaizumi's own ears. Bokuto looked fairly shell shocked, mouth hanging open and one hand gripping his hair almost painfully. Kuroo, meanwhile, still looked somewhat lost-looking at his Head of House to demand answers for a situation that didn't have any.

"A library assistant found him," Nekomata answered. "They said that he ran out of the library roughly ten minutes before, looking agitated."

Iwaizumi counted the beds with pulled curtains. One for Mori Ryota...The second for Professor Mananda...Third and fourth for Takeru Nakashima and Tatsuo Okamoto….Fifth for Hayashi barely a week ago.

The sixth for….

"Which bring us to the question for you four." Headmaster Ukai stepped forward, drawing something out of his robe.

"That's his wand," Bokuto said and Iwaizumi's eyes were drawn immediately to the familiar dark hazel wand he knew contained fine sphinx hair.

The Headmaster held out the wand and Iwaizumi took it, almost confused as the weight of the wand rested in his palm.

This suddenly felt a lot more real.

"He was found holding both his wand and this," the Headmaster said, pulling out a wrinkled piece of parchment and handing it to Kuroo.

The group leaned down, Iwaizumi still mainly on auto-pilot, to stare down at the sheet.

"'The Curse of the Enchanted Maiden,'" Kuroo read out loud, skimming the parchment. "What like Sleeping Beauty?"

The Headmaster nodded, sighing heavily at their continued puzzlement. "So, I take it you don't have any idea what it could mean either."

"He was looking into the petrifications," Bokuto admitted. "...but none of us have found anything yet."

Headmaster Ukai hummed thoughtfully, speaking almost too quietly to be heard. "Maybe that's for the best."

"Can we see him," Suga asked suddenly, speaking for the first time.

The Headmaster turned to Professor Nekomata, who nodded and pointed to the bed furthest in the back. "Of course, boys. We'll give you some privacy. I'll warn you...it's a bit of a shock for most."

Iwaizumi swallowed, following his friends to the back of the Hospital Wing and to the last curtained bed.

Suga grabbed for the curtain before pausing, stealing his nerves to pull it back.

Iwaizumi had the abrupt urge to grab Suga's arm and stop him. A large part of him had the childish idea that if he just couldn't see what happened, then maybe it would go away and Oikawa would be safe in his dorm room.

Suga pulled the curtain back and Iwaizumi heard Kuroo curse beside him.

Iwaizumi had always heard that seeing petrified people was like looking at a statue.

Oikawa wasn't like a statue.

He was all too lifelike, detail no sculptor could capture revealed the horrific truth. His arm was still up, looking at his watch with an expression between concentration and fear. His eyes stared forward without even a flicker of movement to convey that there was life still behind them.

Iwaizumi's stomach rolled and he almost felt like he was going to throw up.

A soft whisper reached his ears, breaking his tunnel vision.

"No, no, no, please no, no," Suga whispered, gingerly stretching his fingers to leave a feather light touch to Oikawa's cheek.

There was no give, more akin to ice than skin.

Suga sunk into the visitor chair, tears streaming down his face now as his breath quickened to a pace near hyperventilation.

Bokuto's arms wrapped around him, breaking Suga's breathing into a ragged gasp but not doing anything to stop the tears.

"I don't know-" Suga stopped speaking almost as soon as he stopped, burying his lower face in his hands while his eyes never left the bed.

Iwaizumi, meanwhile, sat on the edge of the bed and reached out to Oikawa's non-extended hand.

It was cold so Iwaizumi wrapped his own hand around, trying futility to give Oikawa some warmth. In Iwaizumi's other hand, he felt Oikawa's wand give a confused hum as if it could feel the proximity of its master and wondered why someone else was holding it.

"This doesn't make sense," growled out Kuroo, gaining everyone's attention.

From where he was still standing by Suga, Bokuto gave him a sympathetic look. "I know, Bro. This is terrible."

"Yeah, _yes,_ but…." Kuroo's teeth ground together and Iwaizumi noticed the parchment from earlier clenched in his hand. "I mean this paper. Headmaster Ukai said Oikawa left the library in a hurry. Oikawa's a workaholic, he'd never leave early unless…"

"He found something," Iwaizumi stated without inflection.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Suga finally look away from the bed.

"Yes," Kuroo agreed. "He found something, left the library to go tell someone, and then the Heir must have caught up to him."

Bokuto swore. "What do you think he found?"

"This," Kuroo said, holding up the parchment. "He found _this._ It has to be. Why else would he have been carrying it?"

No one disputed it so Kuroo nodded, continuing. "But that's where it doesn't make sense. This story has nothing to do with the petrifications."

"Oikawa mentioned he was looking at legends to find out about dark curses," Iwaizumi pointed out, still staring down. "Maybe it's that."

Kuroo slammed the paper on the bedside table, startling Suga.

"Kuroo…" Bokuto began.

"It can't though," Kuroo yelled. "All this story's about is some dumb princess and some stupid wizard that wanted her kingdom so he placed some dark curse to try to control her but all it did was kill him and make her fall asleep for a hundred years until some other idiot broke the spell but she was already too dead to care. _Nothing about the pertifications that we've got._ "

"You said the princess fell asleep," Suga started. "Maybe it's-"

"No," Kuroo said, already shaking his head. "Asleep, not petrified. The story even goes into flowery detail about watching the rise and fall of her chest as she slowly aged away. It's nothing. Nothing here can help us."

Kuroo took a deep, ragged breath, shutting his eyes tight before opening them to land on Oikawa.

"At least," Kuroo said in a softer but far more bitter voice, "there's nothing that I can see."

The group paused, waiting to see if there was another outburst coming.

It appeared that Kuroo was finished though, just standing and staring at the bed with a conflicted expression.

"What does that mean then," Bokuto finally braved asking.

"It means," Kuroo said slowly, "that Oikawa got petrified for nothing."

ooooooo

By the next morning, news of the latest petrification had already spread across the student body like fiendfyre.

If the first petrification had sparked an excitement in the student body that slowly turned to worry and whispered rumors as the petrifications continued, then it was with the latest petrification that a true sense of terror had taken hold.

After all, Tooru Oikawa was a name that most of the school knew, if not by face than at least by reputation. A reputation touted in the paper for years as a shining public ready example of perfect muggleborn wizard unity-the first muggleborn Slytherin and already top in his class, what an achievement! And that was even before last year's publicity after the defeat and imprisonment of Professor Sora.

If even he could be petrified so easily, what chance did the rest of them have?

Sitting at his House table over breakfast, Daichi had other thoughts in his mind.

"He looks so sad," Daichi mumbled, eyes on a silver haired Slytherin rather than his plate.

Asahi followed his gaze. "Yeah...I can't even imagine."

"Well, what did you expect," Tsukishima asked without bite, "his friend was just petrified."

Yamaguchi shuddered. "At least I don't think people suspect Suga's the Heir still….not with….well, I guess that's kind of a small comfort now, isn't it?"

"This sucks," Noya agreed. "Daichi! Tanaka and I have been talking and we've decided we're accepting Suga as our own. Your welcome."

It was a sign of how out of Daichi really was that all he did was sigh heavily, not even bothering to comment.

"I thought you already approved of Daichi dating Suga," Ennoshita asked, already regretting it.

"That's different," Tanaka assured him. "It's like we said the first time Daichi's basically the dad of the group so anyone he dates has gotta like all of us, _obviously._ But, now _we_ like Suga, too. So, we're adopting him."

Asahi frowned. "Suga already has a group of friends."

"Alright, we'll adopt them, too," Noya said, decisively. "Once they're all un-petrified, of course."

"If Daichi's the dad and Suga's the second parent, wouldn't it be Suga adopting _us,_ " Yamaguchi asked.

"Can't be, no one would _want_ us," Tsukishima retorted and Yamaguchi laughed.

"Would if we had a cool name," Tanaka muttered, traitorously.

Ennoshita rolled his eyes. "Enough with the name stuff. Bigger issues!"

"Do you think I should go talk to him," Daichi asked, distracted. "I just want to...I don't know, see if he's okay."

Asahi patted his shoulder and the group paused, watching quietly.

Noya cleared his throat. "Anyway...Hey, so the map's almost done."

"Finally," Tsukishima sighed.

"Which means we can figure out who the Heir of Slytherin is, right," Ennoshita asked.

Noya nodded. "Yeah, anywhere on this map and we'll see them. More important, we can figure out how they keep petrifying people without being seen."

"We should start setting up watches," Asahi suggested. "Have one of us watching it at all times so we don't miss it."

"What do you think, Daichi," Yamaguchi asked, turning to their de facto leader. "Do you think this will really work?"

Daichi blinked, finally turning away from the Slytherin table and back to the group.

Slowly, Daichi nodded.

"I think it's time we catch the Heir."

ooooooo

Kageyama sat on his bed in numb disbelief.

"Kageyama," Hinata asked, fidgeting in front of him with the diary in his hands. "I'm sorry. I thought you knew."

"I didn't," Kageyama managed, staring at the floor. "Oikawa's really…"

"Yeah," Hinata said, tone a peculiar kind of expressionless that any other time Kageyama would immediately investigate.

But, right now, Kageyama just felt like the world had shifted-made into something he didn't know how to handle yet.

Hinata moved towards him, cautiously sitting beside him and clearing his throat.

"You knew him before you came to Hogwarts, right?"

Kageyama nodded.

"Were you friends?"

Kageyama didn't answer. Partly because Kageyama didn't know how to answer.

 _Had they been friends?_ Growing up in the same neighborhood, he'd certainly tagged along behind Iwaizumi and Oikawa enough that it seemed like it.

But it was more than that, too. As a child, Oikawa had been everything Kageyama wasn't-popular, older, good with people, surrounded by friends. And for some reason, always okay hanging around someone as awkward as Kageyama.

Oikawa was Kageyama's hero.

Of course, Kageyama had screwed that up. He'd been too caught up in his own failings that he let that hero worship sour into a desperate yearning. Coming out of his first year as the only Slytherin muggleborn, it was no wonder Oikawa misunderstood the source of Kageyama's change.

Oikawa had thought Kageyama hated him over something as stupid as blood status and Kageyama had never quite found the words to correct him.

All his life, it seemed like Kageyama _never_ had the words when it really mattered.

Now, three years later, things were different. Kageyama had found friends again. _Good friends_. Kageyama was even beginning to accept that this time he wasn't going to screw up and that was nothing short of amazing.

But, the thing about your heroes is, no matter what happens, you never expect them to fall. You never expect them to be just as human as you.

Oikawa was petrified and Kageyama didn't quite know how his world fit together anymore.

"Kageyama?"

Hinata had moved again to stand in front of him, looking down with large worried eyes.

"I'm fine," Kageyama lied. "You can...you can go ahead and read the diary or whatever...I'm fine."

Hinata straightened and Kageyama bit his own tongue to tamp down on the urge to take it all back and ask Hinata to stay.

 _Say something,_ a rational voice in his mind urged. _If you don't want to be alone, just say something._

The irony about being bad with words was that people only knew something if you told them; but, whenever Kageyama tried to tell anyone anything, he always seemed to mess it up more.

It was better to be alone than risk messing things up further.

Kageyama's hands clenched in his lap and he ground his teeth, waiting for Hinata to leave.

Hinata sat back down beside him.

Kageyama's breath caught.

"What are you doing," Kageyama muttered, voice strained. "I thought you wanted to go see the diary before Quidditch practice?"

"The diary can wait," Hinata said, carefully sitting the diary on Kageyama's bedside table. "Besides doesn't make much sense to leave you here when we're going to Quidditch practice later anyway."

Kageyama swallowed, the sound echoing in a silence that suddenly felt a lot less oppressive.

Sometimes, by chance or miracle….you ended up not needing the words at all.

ooooooo

 _Dear Koushi,_

 _Your mother and I are so sorry to hear about your friend. Rest assured, we're still doing everything we can here in an attempt to find anything in the family library. So far, the search has been futile but never worry, your mother and I will figure something out._

 _Stay strong and remember, you will always have your family with you. Superbiam Nunquam Cadere._

 _Your Father,_

 _Seiichi Sugawara_

The letter crumpled in Suga's hand before he threw it in the fire.

It had been two days since Oikawa was petrified and Suga...wasn't holding up that well.

Of course, none of them were exactly. Iwaizumi had been in the Hospital Wing every spare moment he got, the rest of them normally beside him. Outside of that, between Kuroo and Bokuto-and even sometimes Makki and Matsu-Suga had barely had a moment alone.

The only reason Suga was alone now was that the others had gone to the Quidditch game while Suga had begged off, claiming a headache. He didn't...he didn't think another Quidditch game would be a good idea right now.

In Suga's more reflective moments, he knew his friends were worried about him. In Suga's darker moments, he thought that they _should_ be worried just not in the way they seemed to. They should be worried because of him, not for him.

 _Always have your family with you._

Suga fought back a hysterical laugh. That was exactly what he didn't want. He wanted to _escape_ his family. He wanted to find a way to move past all the vile, terrible, monstrous things committed under his family name.

And what did he have instead? One of his closest friends was lying petrified in a hospital bed and Suga was growing more and more convinced that it was Suga himself that put him there.

The snake had said something was not right, that only the Heir could stop it. But maybe...maybe it was _Suga_ that was the one who was not right. Maybe, just like the rest of his family, there was something inherently wrong with Suga-something that made him the kind of monster that could hurt his own friend. Maybe, the only way that the Heir could stop the petrifications was to make sure he was far, far away from anyone he could hurt.

After all, what was it that Suga's grandfather had said? That the real curse of the Noroi family wasn't the madness that they hide but rather a non-magical one.

It could be that the Noroi's were always doomed to make the wrong decisions. That Noroi's would always hurt the ones around them.

Suga's lips pressed together.

His grandfather had been a monster. Suga had known that ever since he was old enough to read a history book.

Suga had sworn to himself that he would never be like that. He would never hurt people-never hurt his friends-the way his grandfather had.

But then again, if Suga really was the one behind the petrifications, maybe he'd already failed.

ooooooo

"Are you sure you're okay to play," Futakuchi leaned over and whispered to him, right before they stepped on the field.

Bokuto gave him a thumbs up.

Futakuchi shook his head, kicking off from the ground. "You're too quiet. It's not natural."

Bokuto just shrugged, flying over to his place by the goals.

The whistle blew, signalling the beginning the Quidditch final between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor.

Bokuto cleared his head and tried to focus only to find the clarity came amazingly easy.

 _But that's the thing about Quidditch,_ Bokuto reflected. _It helps you think._

If asked his favorite thing about Quidditch, Bokuto would say that it was that Quidditch was really, really simple. When you got down to it, the team that had the most points would always win and the team that had the least would always lose. Sure, you could make it more complicated and find fancy words and complicated strategies that Akaashi and Bokuto could look through for hours. But in the end, it was still just a matter of acting and reacting.

Gryffindor Chaser Niko Hayaidesu dodged around Aone to throw towards the right hoop.

Bokuto caught it and threw it back to Kageyama, letting the roar of the stands wash over him.

 _Just acting and reacting_ , Bokuto thought again.

Kotaro Bokuto was a simple kind of guy.

He'd always been that way. When he was a kid, the others his age would laugh at him and call him "stupid" for being too loud, too eager, too….well, everything. Bokuto never understood it. If he was excited about something, why not be eager? If he was sad about something, why not show it? It didn't make sense.

Now, Bokuto was older though. Now, Bokuto had been around Akaashi enough to understand that not everyone expressed their emotions as vocally and exuberantly as Bokuto did. Merlin, when Bokuto really thought about it, he'd be hard pressed to name _one_ of his friends who just said things how they meant it.

So, Bokuto had learned to adapt.

Hufflepuff had already scored twice and now the Hayaidesu twins were alternating with Yui Michimiya to get around Hufflepuff's wall defense.

They faked a throw to the right and Bokuto adjusted just in time to deflect the real throw to the left by the tips of his fingers. Koki received the Quaffle.

Bokuto had learned to adapt and listen to both what his friends were saying and more often the things they weren't. It was complicated and often really frustrating but Bokuto had always thought it was worth it.

He did have amazing friends, after all. They were worth some extra work on Bokuto's part.

But the thing was….sometimes, Bokuto's friends made things _too_ complicated. They searched for hidden motives and elaborate explanations when it was the simpler answer that would do just fine.

Akari Hayaidesu threw the Quaffle too wide and Bokuto dove but caught it easily.

His friends over complicated _themselves_ , too. Bokuto could see it.

They'd think and they'd wonder and they'd second guess and then, in the end, they wouldn't say anything at all.

Bokuto didn't understand it but he tried to help anyway.

His friends were sad and Bokuto hated it.

Michimiya threw the Quaffle further than Bokuto was able to reach and Gryffindor finally scored.

The other thing about being simple was that just because something was simple didn't mean it was easy.

Quidditch wasn't easy. It took hours and hours of practice and hard work and still there was always the chance it wouldn't be enough. The other team could always win.

Bokuto shook his head and tried hard not to let the missed goal get him down. It wasn't always easy for Bokuto to keep calm when he was so used to showing everything.

A lot of things right now weren't easy, though.

Oikawa was petrified and, honestly, Bokuto was still struggling to process that.

That was the worst but it wasn't the only thing.

Iwaizumi had basically set up his own one man vigil at Oikawa's bed and it was already almost all Kuroo and Bokuto could do to get him to still leave for classes and meals. With Professor Shimada's increasing worry on whether there would be enough Mandrake Potion to treat everyone, Bokuto wasn't sure how long Iwaizumi was going to be able to keep it up. And Bokuto really, _really_ didn't want to find out what happened then.

Kuroo, at least, seemed to be mostly holding it together but Bokuto wasn't entirely sure. He appeared to have taken on Oikawa's previous obsession with researching fairy tales in an attempt to figure out Oikawa's note. What concerned Bokuto the most though was there was a kind of intense frustration there that Bokuto had only seen from Kuroo maybe a handful of times. Nothing like his outburst right after the petrification but still, Bokuto had exchanged more than one worried looks with Kenma when Kuroo wasn't looking.

And Suga was…

The Quaffle landed heavily in Bokuto's hands a second before it flew through the goal. He threw it to Hinata.

Suga was hiding something. Bokuto was fairly sure no one else had noticed yet but Bokuto _knew._

It was kind of hard to say how he knew, it was just a bone deep instinct he'd had from too many years trying to figure out what his friends weren't saying. If Bokuto had to put it down to anything, he'd say it was because Suga was scared. Not the kind of fear that rest of the school had, wondering who would be attacked next. Not even the kind of fear Bokuto had seen reflected on his friends' faces, hoping that this at least was the worst of it.

No, Suga was _terrified_. And, unlike the rest, it wasn't just when the topic of the Heir or the petrifications came up, it was _all the time_. More than once, Bokuto had even noticed Suga looking at _them_ with that same expression and that had been the final tipping point.

Suga was hiding something and he was terrified of any of his friends finding out.

Bokuto...Bokuto wasn't sure what to do with that.

A loud cheer erupted from the stands and Bokuto looked to the other side of the field where Kageyama and Hinata had just scored another goal, bringing Hufflepuff up by fifty.

Bokuto didn't know what to do. He didn't know what it meant that Suga was keeping a secret. He didn't-

Fast and hard, Niko Haiyadesu threw the Quaffle and Bokuto acted-the Quaffle hitting into his chest with enough force to knock his breath away.

He redirected it to Koki.

Above everything else, Bokuto _trusted_ Suga. He didn't know why Suga felt like he couldn't tell them but Bokuto knew, with absolute certainty, that Suga was a good person.

And if Suga was a good guy, then how bad could the secret really be?

He just didn't know how to tell Suga that.

And he _definitely_ wasn't telling anyone else until he talked to Suga. That only seemed fair, after all.

So, there it was. A simple decision that was nowhere near easy.

Just like Quidditch.

Michimiya was shooting down the field, Quaffle held tight under one arm.

Bokuto readied himself for the throw.

Around him, the announcer's voice boomed but Bokuto couldn't concentrate on that right now. Not if he wanted to save the goal.

Michimiya's mouth firmed, arm pulling back. She was flying straight to the center, an easy angle for any of the goals.

Bokuto's heart beat faster.

Her arms swung forward, Quaffle flying throw the air.

Bokuto dove and felt it hit his hand right as the whistle blew.

"THE SNITCH HAS BEEN CAUGHT! HUFFLEPUFF SEEKER KENTARO KYOTANI ENDS AN INTENSE RACE WITH GRYFFINDOR'S YU NISHINOYA, GIVING HUFFLEPUFF THE CUP! HUFFLEPUFF IS OUR QUIDDITCH CUP CHAMPION!"

 _Oh._ Bokuto frowned, the Quaffle still clenched in his arms.

He'd almost forgotten about the Quidditch Cup.

He hit the field and looked out on his team, trying to think of something to say.

Koki was smiling brightly, one arm each slung around Futakuchi and Aone. Still breathing heavily, Hinata had a warm but subdued grin with Kageyama beside him, wearing a small smile. Mad Dog was frowning down at the Snitch, looking almost confused.

Bokuto's throat went dry and a panic gripped him because he _still didn't know what to say_.

He looked over their faces, until finally he caught Akaashi running onto the field from the stands.

Bokuto breathed.

"We did it, guys!"

That was apparently enough as the team-his team-rushed in to pile on top of him, slapping his back and cheering as they did.

Bokuto smiled, savoring their excitement even though his own felt oddly muted.

"Come on," Futakuchi called out to the rest of team. "You know there's going to be a party in the common room and I am not going to miss it."

The team let out another cheer at that and as one, hurried towards the changing room.

Bokuto hung back, not really ready to celebrate.

Akaashi came to stand beside him. "You did it."

"Yeah," Bokuto said, smiling genuinely. "We did."

Akaashi paused, taking him in with the kind of look that made Bokuto feel just as transparent as people always said he was.

It was okay when Akaashi did it.

"Parties are always too loud for me," Akaashi said, quietly.

Bokuto huffed out a laugh. "Yeah, I….I don't know if I'm much up for a party tonight either. It would be weird if the captain didn't go though, right?"

Akaashi shrugged. "Nothing wrong with a little weird. Your team knows, that's what's important."

Bokuto relaxed, leaning into Akaashi. "Thanks, Keiji."

Akaashi nodded. "Where do you want to go instead?"

Bokuto was silent for a second but he didn't really have to think that hard.

"The Hospital Wing. There's still someone else I gotta tell."

Akaashi, hand slid down to grip Bokuto's own. "I'll come with you."

Bokuto smiled.

In the end, the best things really were quite simple.

ooooooo

Hinata ended up slipping away to his room fairly soon after the party started.

Kageyama was busy talking quietly with Yachi and Kenma and the rest of the team was preoccupied, celebrating with the rest of his House.

Hinata was as happy about the win as the rest of them. How could he not be? It was Quidditch.

But Oikawa was petrified and if he had been right when he warned Hinata, then Hinata might not have much time left before he was a victim himself.

The diary only had a few pages left. If there was anything there for Hinata to find out, he needed to do it soon.

With that in mind, he slipped out the diary and began to read.

"October 13, 1943."

Hinata looked down as words appeared on the page, expecting the usual greeting.

Instead, there was only dark smudges of scribbled out lines.

His stomach lurched and Hinata was dragged in, the pull almost as jarring as the very first time Hinata had done this.

He landed hard on castle stone as the darkness of the Hogwarts halls slowly formed around him.

"Shh, honestly, you walk like an erumpent," Hisashi accused and Hinata turned to see both him and Ichiro sneaking down the hall.

Ichiro grinned and Hinata was struck by the differences between this memory and the previous.

With the moon shining on his hair and Hisashi pulling his arm, Ichiro looked….happy. At the very least, there was a lightness there that Hinata knew had been absent before.

"If I walk like an erumpent, then you whisper like a banshee," Ichiro shot back. "Really, Hisashi, and you said we were supposed to be quiet."

Hisashi rolled his eyes, taking out his wand to tap twice on a stone between two paintings.

There was a light rumble and, suddenly, a section of the wall swung open, earning a particularly loud snore from the painting that hung from it.

Ichiro's eyes widened and Hisashi looked distinctly smug. "I read about it over the summer in one of my ancestor's journals. Come on, it should lead down to the dungeon."

The two stepped through-followed by Hinata-and started down a dark, windy staircase leading to an even darker room at the bottom.

"Well," Ichiro said, waving his wand and lighting old, musty torches that lined the wall. The extra light did nothing to help the creepiness of the room, illuminating broken potion bottles and ash-drawn runes covering the walls. "I have to hand it to you, Hisashi, this does look like an absolutely lovely place to be murdered."

Hisashi laughed. "I _told_ you. I got this from my ancestor's journal. There's no telling what they used to do down here. We're probably better off not knowing."

Ichiro gave him a look. "Remind me again, why we couldn't do this during the summer? You know in the nicer, cleaner, and significantly less morbid manor."

"If you think the manor is any less morbid than you clearly haven't been spending enough time in the library," Hisashi responded. "But to answer your question, it's because anything involving family magic is much better done at the oldest family land available. And, despite my family's name change, Hogwarts will always belong partly to the Slytherin's. Speaking of which, what time is it?"

Ichiro looked down at his watch. "Merlin, it's a bit past two in the morning."

"Perfect, the moon should be over us soon," Hisashi said, taking a seat on the floor and gesturing for Ichiro to do the same.

Ichiro obliged, sitting down across from him

"Great, now give me your hand," Hisashi told him, pulling out an ornate knife from the folds of his robes.

Ichiro eyed the knife skeptically.

Hisashi held out his hand. "Trust me."

Ichiro extended his hand.

"I got this knife from the study back at home," Hisashi said, wincing as he pressed it into his own hand. "It was my father's."

He took Ichiro's hand and hesitated with the knife held over it.

Ichiro nodded.

Hisashi pressed the knife in, creating a straight line of red right down the palm.

Ichiro took a sharp breath but otherwise didn't react.

With an air of solemnity, Hisashi shifted Ichiro's hand until the cuts from both of their palms pressed together.

The torches reflected in Hisashi's eyes, making them look extra bright. "Ready?"

Ichiro nodded again.

Hisashi breathed out, slowly.

"I, Hisashi Noroi, Head of the Noroi family and Heir to Slytherin, call forth my family magic."

On the walls, the fire flickered before turning a bright silver. Hinata felt a shiver go up his spine as even the memory itself made the hair on his arms stand in attention.

Ichiro thread his fingers through Hisashi's, holding on tighter.

"I hereby declare Ichiro Ignathe, not yet Heir of any name, as part of the Noroi and Slytherin family from tonight to every night forth."

The torch closest to the two teenagers, spilled over. The silver fire flying across the floor until it formed a perfect circle around Hisashi and Ichiro.

"Ichiro Ignathe, do you accept this offer," Hisashi asked.

"I accept," Ichiro said, voice steady.

The fire inched closer.

"Will you live, knowing that your deeds shall always reflect upon both the Noroi and the Slytherin families?"

"I will."

The fire moved closer still, almost close enough to touch.

"Do you pledge to always strive to bring greatness to the Noroi and Slytherin families names and uphold our traditions?"

"I pledge.

The fire moved up Ichiro and Hisashi's bodies, running up their backs until it rested on their joined hands.

"Then I, Hisashi Noroi, Head of the Noroi family and Heir to Slytherin, declare you, Ichiro Ignathe, and any children you might one day have as forever part of the Noroi and Slytherin families. What is mine is yours."

"What is mine is yours," Ichiro echoed.

The flame burned tall for one singular moment, before dying back and sinking into the hands bellow.

On the wall, the rest of the torches shifted back to their usual reds and oranges.

There was a long beat before Hisashi breathed out in what was close to a laugh.

"Well, Ichiro, I think it's official. We're stuck together."

Ichiro snorted, a smile breaking out on his face. "Darn, you sure it's not too late?"

"Definitely too late," Hisashi said, standing up and pulling Ichiro with him.

He examined his hand, pulling out his wand. "Episkey."

The cut healed, leaving only a small white scar in its place. He did the same for Ichiro.

"Come on," Hisashi said, tucking both the knife and his wand back into his robes. "Like you said, this place is dark and creepy and my bed is warm and comfy."

Ichiro seemed eager to agree, judging by the speed he extinguished the lights only leaving the pair with a bright wand lighting charm to make their way back of the stairs and into the halls.

"Quiet," Ichiro whispered, as they crept closer to the dorms. "I'm pretty sure Ueno's the Head Boy on duty tonight."

Hisashi scrunched up his face. "Ugh, I barely want to see him in the light of day. Definitely not at night." The rest of Ichiro's sentence seemed to catch up with Hisashi as he turned. "And what do you mean _me_ be quiet. You're the one with the loud troll feet."

Ichiro's lip quirked up. "I thought it was an erumpent."

"Either," Hisashi assured him, turning to mutter the password for the Slytherin common room.

The stone wall slid open and the two boys slipped inside and up the stairs.

"There," Ichiro said, once they got back to their dorm room. "Back safe and without any one the wiser even with my erumpent-troll feet."

Hisashi rolled his eyes, going to his bed and seeing-

"Oh."

"What," Ichiro asked drowsily, already laying back on his bed.

"My diary," Hisashi said, holding up a very familiar book. "I probably should write in it , right? I mean this _is_ a pretty big night."

"Do it tomorrow," Ichiro told him, sitting up to lean on his bedpost.

"But then the memory will be less clear," Hisashi argued.

"Hisashi," Ichiro said in a tone of fond exasperation, "it's almost three in the morning. Go to sleep."

"It'll only take a bit," Hisashi said, already slipping the diary into his robe. "The common room's empty. I'll go down there to do it."

"You're crazy." Ichiro shook his head.

"Like five minutes, I promise," Hisashi said, heading back to the door.

"Yeah, yeah," Ichiro said, standing up. "Just wait a second."

Hisashi paused, with his hand on the door. "What?"

Ichiro hugged him.

The muggleborn teen's arms came to wrap around his friend and pull him closer, waiting until Hisashi returned it-albeit with a slightly confused expression.

"Thanks," Ichiro whispered, "for giving me a family back."

Hisashi swallowed, arms tightening. "...of course."

Ichiro pulled back with a smile. "You know I'm really glad I got a stuck up pureblood like you as a roommate."

Hisashi smirked, pulling open the door. "Please, Ichiro, as if you could have survived here without me."

The door shut on Ichiro's laugh and Hisashi pulled the diary closer, walking down the stairs with a grin tugging at his lips.

Just like before, the Slytherin common room was silent and dark-the only light coming from a single fireplace with two arm chairs around it.

Hisashi moved to sit in one, laying down the diary and pulling out a quill to write, _October 13, 1943._

Hinata frowned down at the diary, the page looking almost the exact same as the one he'd been pulled into just a bit ago.

This was strange. Usually, Hisashi ended the memories before now. Why was he-

"Noroi."

Hisashi jumped in his chair, turning as a figure moved out of the shadows and into the light of the fire.

Hinata squinted, trying to place the face before Hisashi scowled.

"Ueno," Hisashi said with distaste. "Taken up lurking in the shadows, I see. It's fine. I'm sure your face isn't that hideous."

Ueno ignored the bait. "Oh, don't worry, I'm only down here to see if any of the students are breaking the rules tonight." Ueno's mouth turned up in a smirk. "What about you, Noroi? Breaking any rules?"

Hisashi rolled his eyes. "I don't know if it's escaped your notice, Ueno. But the Slytherin common room doesn't actually have a curfew. If I want to stay here all night, it would still be _my_ business and not _yours_."

"I'm aware," Ueno said, moving closer. "But since you so kindly brought up business, I think I might have some that will interest you."

"Doubtful," Hisashi said, coldly.

Ueno shrugged. "So, it wouldn't interest you to hear a very _interesting_ fact I found out about your dear roommate?"

If there was ever a moment that proved that Hisashi Noroi belonged in Slytherin, then this was it.

Hisashi's expression didn't even waver. "If you have something to say, just say it, Ueno. Some of us have better things to do."

The amusement on Ueno's face dried to something closer to hatred.

"Your roommate's a mudblood, Noroi," Ueno spat out.

Even to Hinata, it felt like the air stilled.

Hisashi let out a harsh laugh. "What are you talking about?"

"My father had me look into him after his last bid for the Wizamagot was overturned," Ueno continued. "I'll admit it was irritating when I couldn't trace back any of his so called connections."

"It's not Ichiro's fault that either you're bad at research or any pureblood of true value wouldn't deem to speak to you," Hisashi said, skepticism clear.

Ueno's face darkened further. "At first, I thought I'd just hit a dead end so I went to the school records."

"Those are supposed to be sealed off," Hisashi interrupted.

Ueno snorted. "I'm Head Boy, Noroi. You don't think I can manage to sneak away a few files?"

Hisashi didn't answer and Ueno continued.

"Imagine my surprise when Ichiro Ignathe wasn't listed at all on the pre-admission sign up list," Ueno leaned closer. "You want to know where he was instead?"

Hisashi's lips pressed together, shoulders pulling up in a casual shrug. "I'm sure you're going to tell me anyway."

"He was on the muggleborn list," Ueno finished triumphantly. "He even had a little check mark by his name and a signature from the professor who delivered the letter."

Ueno stopped, breaking off in a laugh at Hisashi's expression.

"It's finally sinking in for you, isn't it," Ueno mocked. "Hisashi Noroi, Heir of the great and pure Noroi family, fooled by the simple tricks of a no-name mudblood."

Hisashi swallowed. "You can't prove anything."

"Wrong again, Noroi," Ueno corrected with a vicious delight showing on his face. "I snuck the muggleborn list out when I first saw it." Ueno laughed again. "I even have his documentation from the stupid little Muggle orphanage he came from."

"What do you want, Ueno," Hisashi finally snapped, hands clenching into fists at his side.

"What I want is what my family-what _I_ deserve," Ueno hissed back, leaning to glare directly into Hisashi's face. "Our families were supposed to be allies until that filthy mudblood got close enough and started twisting your mind to think you're supposed to be higher than you are?"

"So, that's it," Hisashi asked. "You want me to renew our alliance?"

"It's a start," Ueno said, smirking widely. "Of course, the terms would be under a little bit different circumstances. After all, it doesn't stand to reason to give your family as much power in the agreement as before. Not when their young, _inexperienced_ Head of the family was already duped by a muggleborn."

Hisashi gritted his teeth, not saying anything.

"Speaking of which," Ueno continued. "We'd need your full and public dismissal of Ignathe. Don't worry, you can keep the whole mudblood thing a secret. Publicly breaking your alliance with him should be damaging enough."

"I can't," Hisashi said through his teeth.

Ueno raised an eyebrow. "I didn't think you were so stupid, Noroi. Are you asking for _more_ proof?

" _I can't,"_ Hisashi repeated, bringing one clenched hand up to his chest.

Ueno noticed the gesture, grabbing at the hand.

Hisashi let him.

Ueno unfolded the hand, letting out something between a gasp and a swear when he saw the white line of the newly formed scar.

"An inheritance ritual," Ueno guessed correctly. "You….you actually made him part of your family...But, _why_? Why would you do that unless…."

Ueno looked up at him with horror in his eyes, dropping the hand as if it burnt him.

"You knew," Ueno accused. "You _knew_ he was a muggleborn."

Hisashi stayed silent.

"Merlin," Ueno swore, stepping away as if he couldn't stand to be any closer to Noroi. "A mudblood and you declared him part of _your family._ " Ueno shook his head, disgusted. "What would your father have said? Merlin, how the Noroi's have fallen."

Hisashi took a long ragged breath. "I can't denounce him."

"Not with that you can't," Ueno agreed, still looking revolted.

A moment later, his expression cleared and he shrugged.

"Well, Noroi," Ueno said, casually. "It looks like you'll just have to call back the recognition of your family magic first. You're the Head of the family, it shouldn't be that hard."

Hisashi's head shot up as if slapped.

"Are you _insane?!_ I can't do that! The backlash would kill him!"

Ueno waved a hand, dismissively. "So? He's a mudblood, Noroi. Who cares?"

Ueno glanced at Hisashi again, eyes focusing in on the aghast expressions. Ueno's lip curled up in distaste. "Really, Noroi, have you forgotten your family's pride so completely?"

Ueno turned to the fire, not seeing the change in Hisashi's expression.

"Let me put in like this, Noroi. Either withdraw recognition of your family magic and publicly break your alliance….assuming the he's still alive, of course….or I'll make sure everyone knows that the Head of the Noroi family has taken to adopting stray mudbloods. Your reputation will be ruined. Your family will fall. And all because you couldn't take out the trash."

Ueno twisted around to regard Hisashi with a smirk. The light of the fire hit behind him, elongating his shadow until he looked like a giant.

"I'll give you a week to decide," Ueno said before striding away upstairs, leaving Hisashi all alone in dark common room.

Hinata watched as Hisashi sat heavily, staring at the diary still laid innocently on the table.

He picked up his quill.

Hinata felt a dizzying rush until he was landing back in his own dorm room and staring down at a blank page, quickly filling with a single sentence-even absent of the usual sign off.

 _I don't know what to do._

 _ooooooo_

A/N: Thanks everyone for all your wonderful support! Next week, I'm out of town for half the week so the next chapter has a greatly increased risk of being a few days late. Next Chapter: The Start of a Knight


	21. The Start of a Knight

Iwaizumi gritted his teeth and thoroughly, _thoroughly_ regretted his choice to stop by his dorm room and grab a book to study.

In the center of the common room, Hara Naroko let out another loud sob and the binding of the book dug into Iwaizumi's hand under the pressure.

One of Naroko's friends reached out to comfort her and she accepted it gratefully. Large, pretty tearful eyes looked up to glint in the firelight-the supposed tragedy of the situation doing nothing to ruin the perfectly applied make-up.

Below where Iwaizumi had paused on the stairs, two girls let out heartfelt sighs.

"Poor Hara," one of the girls whispered. "Imagine if _your_ boyfriend was petrified like that. It's so tragic."

"She's so strong," the other girl whispered back just as Naroko let out a pained whimper. "But, oh, it's so romantic, don't you think? Oikawa and Hara, it's like Romeo and Juliet!"

The first girl nodded but Iwaizumi's attention was quickly drawn as Naroko, in an apparent miraculous feat of strength and determination, lifted up her head to gaze longingly out the window.

"You know," Naroko said, whisper managing to carry loud enough to reach the entire enthralled audience. "I never...I never even told him I loved him."

And okay, no, that was it. That was the final snap of Iwaizumi's fragile patience.

He stalked down the stairs and out of the common room like he couldn't get out of there fast enough-which, really, wasn't that far from the truth.

Honestly, the only reason he'd even grabbed the book was that studying seemed to make Bokuto and Kuroo shoot him far less concerned looks.

It was really amazing how quickly people got out of your way when you were glowering dark enough to be mistaken for a dementor.

"Iwaizumi, wait up!"

Though, apparently not enough to warn away _everyone_.

"What," Iwaizumi snapped.

Suguru Daisho raised one singularly unimpressed eyebrow.

Iwaizumi glared. "If you're here to ask about the Dueling Competition. Sorry, Ishida already said we couldn't compete without a fourth group member and Kuroo and I _aren't_ competing without Oikawa. That's not up for negotiation."

Daisho grimaced, looking almost offended. "It's not about dueling. Really, Iwaizumi, how much of an asshole do you think I am?"

Iwaizumi wisely chose not to comment and instead asked, "Then what do you want?"

Daisho's face shifted, losing the combative edge even if a trace of the natural haughtiness remained. "To tell you I'm sorry to hear about Oikawa."

Iwaizumi stared. "What? You don't even like Oikawa."

"I don't _dislike_ him either." Daishio shrugged. "You three are my dueling partners. I'm allowed to be...concerned, I suppose...when one of you is petrified."

Iwaizumi digested this before sighing, shoulders slumping as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Thanks...I think."

Daisho nodded-holding himself in a still kind of way that made Iwaizumi think that if Daisho was a bit less controlled, he'd be fidgeting.

"So," Daisho eventually asked, voice casual but a deep curiosity in his eyes, "is Oikawa going to be okay?"

Iwaizumi swallowed, looking at the floor. "Yeah. Of course, he will be."

 _He better be._

"I should go," Iwaizumi said when the silence had gone uncomfortably long. "I'll, ah, keep you updated, I guess."

Daisho offered a stiff nod and Iwaizumi decided to head to the Hospital Wing before the conversation could get any _more_ weird.

Daisho let him go without complaint.

When Iwaizumi arrived, the Hospital Wing was just as quiet and depressing as it had been the first night-just the same as every day since then, too.

Sitting in the back and sorting through various healing potions, Professor Nekomata barely spared him a nod as Iwaizumi headed back.

Also like every time before, Iwaizumi hesitated before stepping passed the white curtain.

He moved before he could think himself out of it.

It still felt like a punch to the gut.

Iwaizumi slouched into the visitor's chair, propping his head on one hand.

"So, I just had an awkward talk with Daisho," Iwaizumi started abruptly. "He wasn't even being a dick this time….Is it weird that makes him harder to talk to?"

There wasn't any answer, not that Iwaizumi really expected there to be.

"He was worried about you," Iwaizumi continued, thumb idly running down the armrest of the chair. "You probably don't believe me...but, a lot of people are worried about you actually."

 _I am,_ but Iwaizumi didn't say that.

Oikawa already knew anyway….if he was awake, he would.

Iwaizumi groaned, leaning back and glaring at the ceiling. "Oh, yeah, your girlfriend's crying all over the Gryffindor common room right now. Apparently, you're her 'one true love' or whatever. Congrats, I guess."

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. "Funny, don't ever remember seeing her in here or asking how you're doing. 'Suppose she's too busy."

Oikawa didn't answer, didn't laugh, didn't smile, didn't move.

And Iwaizumi's anger extinguished as suddenly as blowing out a candle.

"This is stupid, isn't it," Iwaizumi muttered.

The figure in the bed didn't even seem like Oikawa. It was too real to look like a statue but, at the same time, there was no animation there. There was no smirk or playful comment, only a cold, frozen stillness. It wasn't like a statue, it was more like Oikawa was d-

Iwaizumi stopped that thought before it could finish.

He sighed, forcefully going down a new line of thought.

When him and Oikawa were kids, they used to make up games to play in Iwaizumi backyard. Oikawa's favorite had always been pretending they were aliens. Iwaizumi's favorite had always been knight and king. The game was simple. Oikawa would be the king and Iwaizumi would be his knight. Oikawa would make up some kind of monster or dragon that was attacking the castle-normally, just the tree house Iwaizumi's father had built them-and Iwaizumi would go fight it with Oikawa yelling out where it was.

They'd stopped playing it when they got older. Iwaizumi doubted Oikawa even remembered it much.

Iwaizumi thought about the game more than he probably should.

It was dumb. It was definitely, _definitely_ kind of crazy but sometimes Iwaizumi wondered if the game ever really ended.

After all, even here at Hogwarts, Oikawa still found monsters. He still pointed them out to Iwaizumi. And Iwaizumi still felt like it was his job to fight them.

Apparently, he wasn't doing a very good job.

Iwaizumi watched as Oikawa lay, unmoving, in the bed and figured that he turned out to be a really shitty sort of knight.

Maybe Oikawa had thought that, too. Iwaizumi still didn't know what it was that Oikawa had been trying to hide during their fight. Maybe it hadn't just been Oikawa being cryptic and way too careless about his own safety. Maybe Oikawa just hadn't trusted Iwaizumi to be strong enough to do anything.

Iwaizumi had messed up. There was some kind of monster-either literal or just in Oikawa's worries-that Oikawa hadn't told him about. And if Oikawa didn't tell him, then how could Iwaizumi even hope to fight it?

The sound of a throat clearing jerked Iwaizumi out of his thoughts.

Iwaizumi's eyes widened.

Standing just outside of the curtain, Tobio Kageyama stared down at his shoes.

"Professor Nekomata told me I could come back," Kageyama muttered, neck turning red as Iwaizumi continued to look at him. "Didn't know you were already back here...I can go."

"What are you doing here," Iwaizumi asked before internally wincing as Kageyama flinched back as if struck. "I mean...I didn't think you'd want to visit."

Iwaizumi was fairly sure Oikawa and Kageyama had barely even looked at each other in two years and that even mentioning the younger boy to Oikawa normally put him in a mood. Iwaizumi had always assumed the feeling was mutual.

Kageyama's eyes flickered up, landing on the bed and then going quickly away.

"It's Oikawa….I just…." Kageyama shrugged.

Iwaizumi watched as Kageyama shifted again, looking like he was ready to bolt at any second.

Finally, Iwaizumi sighed and muttered a spell to summon a second chair.

"I wouldn't mind some company," Iwaizumi told him.

And as Kageyama sunk into the chair with a brief look of relief, Iwaizumi wondered if maybe there had been more to the story than either he or Oikawa had ever understood.

He couldn't quite find the words to ask.

ooooooo

Curled up in a remote corner of the castle, Suga watched as the sky slowly went dark above the Quidditch field.

There was a peace there that seemed almost an impossibility...Or maybe that was only because Suga was struggling to find anything peaceful lately.

So far tonight, Suga had succeeded in begging off the concerned eyes of Bokuto and Kuroo after dinner; but, he knew it was only a matter of time before they came looking for him. That was what worried friends did, after all.

If only, that fact didn't have Suga's chest tightening until he struggled to breathe.

Mori Ryotai, Professor Mananda, Takeru Nakashima and Tatsuo Okamoto, Hayashi Taiyo, and...and Tooru Oikawa.

It couldn't be a coincidence that Suga had contact with almost all of them the day they were petrified. Okamoto he hadn't, at least, but even that was sheer chance given how often the older Slytherin took to bullying his Housemates.

That couldn't be coincidence….not when Suga was the Heir.

But, even if Suga knew he was to blame-and he had long given up hope he wasn't-that didn't tell him what he could do. That didn't tell him how he could _stop_ people from being petrified.

The only common denominator that Suga could think of was contact. So….so if the only way to keep his remaining friends safe was to keep them as far away from him as he could manage, then that was what Suga would do.

Even if….even if it meant Suga was alone

He sighed, allowing himself a small moment of silence to simply look out on the dark green forest and the moon shining off the castle tiles.

When you got down to it, Hogwarts really was quite-

"Beautiful."

Suga looked up, surprised.

Daichi was standing a few steps away, face turning faintly pink.

"The castle," Daichi clarified. "It's beautiful."

Suga smiled, heart beating slightly faster. "It is."

A moment passed in perfect silence before Daichi cleared his throat. "I...I hope you don't mind. I saw you walking up here and thought I'd join you."

"Oh, that's," Suga paused, conflicted.

It wasn't as if there was a very polite way to say _Sorry, I came here to avoid all my friends in hopes to keep them from being petrified. By the way, have I mentioned I'm the Heir of Slytherin?_

"I can leave," Daichi said, looking down quickly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have intruded."

He started to turn away.

"Wait," Suga shouted, immediately and _clearly_ without any input from his brain.

Daichi stopped, looking startled, and Suga blushed.

"I mean..." Suga took a breath, "I mean if you want to stay, it's fine. I don't mind when it's you, Daichi."

Daichi smiled and the breath that Suga had just caught was lost again.

He mentally shook himself. _What's the matter with me?_

"Thanks," Daichi said, sitting on the other side of the window seat but still close enough that Suga could feel the warmth of his body.

"You know I have to admit," Daichi continued, "I was a bit surprised you were alone. I think this is the first time I've seen you without Bokuto or Kuroo all week."

Suga's shoulders dropped. "I just figured they needed a break."

"That's hard to imagine."

"You never need a break from your friends," Suga asked.

Daichi laughed. "From my friends? All the time. Not that they'd give me one." Daichi met his eyes. "I just can't imagine anyone needing a break from _you._ "

Suga glanced down, face growing warm. "Trust me, I'm not that wonderful."

"I don't believe that for a second."

"No, really," Suga insisted. "Sometimes….sometimes, I think I'm responsible for really terrible things."

There was a long pause and Suga didn't raise his head, not wanting to see whatever expression Daichi was wearing.

"Suga….Koushi? Please, look at me."

Suga swallowed, slowly lifting his head.

The look on Daichi's face almost had him glancing away again, this time out of shyness.

Daichi was looking at him like he was something precious, something fantastic and unique and amazing and...and _wanted._ And it was almost too much. It was more than Suga deserved.

"Koushi, listen," Daichi ordered, voice low and deep, "people like you don't do terrible things. Not on purpose, at least. Never on purpose."

Suga's heart was beating so fast it was verging on painful.

"Just because I didn't do it on purpose, doesn't mean it's not my fault," Suga whispered.

Daichi stopped, obviously thinking through Suga's words before he gave his answer.

Suga pretended he wasn't waiting on tenterhooks.

"Maybe," Daichi allowed, "but last I knew, you weren't psychic. You can't know the effect of everything you do. And...that's not what makes a person anyway." His lip quirked up. "And the kind of person you are, Suga, is the kind that tries to fix problems, not start them."

Suga smiled sadly. "Some problems I don't know how to fix."

"Well, that's why you have friends, isn't it," Daichi said, simply.

Suga didn't answer. He didn't even know how he could answer, didn't have the words.

Daichi seemed to sense it, looking down with a blush of his own.

"That's….," Daichi cleared his throat. "That's actually something I wanted to ask you. I wanted to know if you'll have me… I mean, of course, you _already_ have me. I'll always be your friend, Suga. And...and I don't want that to change. Not even if you don't….Which is totally fine _if_ you don't. Well, not fine but…"

Daichi closed his eyes and took a slow breath and when he looked up at Suga next, there was a determination in his eyes.

"I like you, Suga," Daichi said. "I _really_ like you. And would really like it if you went on a date with me."

Time stopped.

 _Oh,_ Suga realized numbly. _That explains a lot._

A number of interactions he'd had with Daichi suddenly made a lot more sense.

More pressing, however, was the way Suga's heart beat faster around Daichi suddenly made sense. The fact that Suga's eyes always subconsciously looked for Daichi in the Great Hall suddenly made sense. All the blushes, all the smiles, all the _warmth_ that Suga had been trying to ignore suddenly made sense.

Suga liked Daichi.

...and that was the worst thing that could happen.

"I can't," Suga blurted out, his chest tightening like a steel beam against his ribs as his heart beat painfully against it. "Daichi, I _can't._ "

Because Suga _liked_ Daichi. And that meant, more than anything, he wanted Daichi to be _safe._

Which meant the kindest thing Suga could do for him was get him as far away from Suga as possible.

"You can't," Daichi repeated, brow crinkling in confusion. Then, all at once, Daichi's face fell and Suga caught just a brief flash of something devastated. "Oh...I see."

"Daichi, it's not…" Suga stopped, hands clenching together in his lap. "It's not you. I promise it's not you."

"It's okay, Suga," Daichi said, standing up. "You don't have to make excuses. I understand."

"Daichi…"

"I'll leave you alone, Suga," Daichi said, beginning to turn.

Suga's hand caught him again.

"Daichi," Suga begged him to understand. "I'm sorry."

Daichi gave him a weak smile. "Yeah, Suga….me, too."

And then, he gently pulled his arm away and Suga….Suga let him. Suga let him turn and leave down the hall. Suga let Daichi go because it was the only way he'd be safe.

Suga watched the hall until he was sure that Daichi was far enough away and not coming back-and _why would he come back_ , Suga thought bitterly.

And that's when the band around Suga's chest finally broke and the first tear fell, followed, by the second, and the third, and the-

 _Please,_ Suga prayed, bringing his knees to his chest and burying his face in his arms as he cried quietly to himself. _Please, I just want him to be safe. I don't want him petrified._

 _Please, let him be safe._

 _ooooooo_

 _Well, that...was terrible._

Daichi walked slowly through the halls, fighting the sting behind his eyes and the absent pain in his chest.

To distract himself, he tried to think about how he was going to explain this to the others back in the dorm. Well, more like how he was going to explain it in a way that _wouldn't_ have Noya and Tanaka bothering Suga and trying to change his mind. It's not like it was Suga's fault that Daichi had a large, stupid, hopeless crush on him. It just...it just sucked for Daichi.

Maybe, it wouldn't be too bad. Ennoshita and Yamaguchi would probably be able to corral Tanaka and Noya. And then Asahi would stammer out something to try to make Daichi feel better and Tsukishima would say something cutting and…

And Suga still wouldn't want anything to do with him.

Daichi stopped, clenching his eyes shut and letting out a ragged breath.

It's...well...maybe Suga would still want to be his friend. Maybe he would still be able to talk to him in Herbology without it being too horribly and painfully awkward. Maybe Daichi would eventually be able to get over the dumb way his heart beat faster when he saw him. It hadn't worked for the last three years but maybe…

Maybe, Daichi should stop trying to make himself feel better because he was kind of doing a terrible job.

Daichi shoulders slumped and he resigned himself to taking the long way back to the dorms.

He opened his eyes.

He frowned.

Directly in front of him was _something_ large and dark green, blocking off Daichi's entire path. Daichi blinked, looking close as the swath of green glinted to show scales.

Daichi heard a hiss behind him.

He turned.

The dark green _moved_ and something heavy hit him from behind.

Daichi fell to the ground, unconscious.

ooooooo

Hinata went through his day with a single minded intensity that even he himself was unable to fully explain. The diary was a heavy weight in his bag, dragging through his mind with an unforgettable presence.

Last night, after he'd finished the latest entry, he'd merely stared at the last words-caught between a deep yearning desire to turn the page and a desperate urge to throw the diary across the room, never to look at it again.

Yachi and Kageyama had finally come upstairs to see why he'd abandoned the party and he couldn't even bring himself to explain to them what he'd seen, just continuing to stare down until they took the diary away from him and shuffled him into bed.

Not that he slept particularly well.

" _I don't know what to do."_

Hisashi's ending words beat painfully in Hinata's chest and...and...Hinata didn't know what to do either.

There was nothing he _could_ do. How do you stop something that occurred generations ago? How do you reason with a memory? There was nothing- _nothing_ -he could do to stop anything in the diary and the pain of that was sharp in a way Hinata had never felt before.

So, would it be better if he never found out what Hisashi's choice had been?

That was the safest choice, after all. By now, after reading years and years worth of entries, Hinata highly doubted he would learn anything new about the Heir in the last one.

But maybe that was just the fear…

Hinata took a deep breath, leaning his head back on the wall of the owlery. Karasuna cawed softly, but seemed to be able to sense that he'd come up here to be alone.

Go through the possible pain of seeing a tragedy he couldn't stop or live his life never knowing?

Hinata looked down at the diary.

The thing was….the thing Hinata had known since he stared down at those six words….was that there was never really a choice to it at all.

Not for Hinata.

But, that didn't mean it was easy.

For the last time, Hinata opened the diary.

"October 20, 1943."

 _Dear Descendants,_

 _It's time I look towards the future._

Hinata closed his eyes again and felt the world rearrange.

When he opened them again, he was in an abandoned Hogwarts classroom with the afternoon sun shining through the windows.

Ueno was already in the room, sitting back on an old teacher's desk and smirking.

Hisashi shut the door behind him, expression blank as he weaved privacy charms through the air.

"Made your choice, I see," Ueno said, smirk growing wider.

Hisashi hand still lingered on the door knob and he leaned forward, resting his head against the wood. "I have."

He took a breath, turning and walking carefully towards Ueno. "You don't have to do this, Ueno. Ichiro knows how to keep a secret. He can help us."

Ueno rolled his eyes. "You really have lost it, haven't you, Noroi?" He tilted his head. "Besides, isn't it already too late? From what I heard, Ignathe was committed to the Hospital Wing just this morning."

A deep pain flashed across Hisashi's face and his whole frame started shaking. "It's _not_ too late! I can still give the family magic back. I can still save him. Please, Ueno, _please,_ just let me save him! Please don't make me do this."

Ueno snickered, his hands landing on Hisashi's shoulder. "Aww, but don't you see? _I'm_ not the one making you do anything. All I did was offer you a choice. _You're_ the one who made it, Noroi. _You're_ the one who killed the mudblood."

Hisashi's whole body slumped and the only thing keeping him up was Ueno's hands on his shoulders.

Ueno leaned closer, whispering in his ear. "You can still save him. Right, _Hisashi_? And the only thing it will cost is your family's reputation. Your future."

A shudder ran through his body and Hisashi hung his head. "...just give me the documents, Ueno. You have what you want. There's no need to rub it in."

Ueno smiled again, considering. "I suppose you're right, Noroi. There's always time to remind you later, _my ally._ After all, mistakes don't just go away. I plan to hold this over you for a long, _long_ time."

Ueno stepped back and reached in his robes before shoving a handful of papers into Hisashi's shaking hands.

Hisashi looked down at them, reading them as if they were his own death warrant.

"You know," Ueno mused, happily, "it really was quite a nice job you did setting up a complete false identity for the mudblood. Not to mention the political connections." He smiled. "Keep up the good work and you never know...maybe one day, you'll even be my right hand."

Hisashi looked up with dead eyes.

" _Bombarda."_

Hinata's mouth dropped open as the blast of an explosion flung Ueno into the air and over the desk before hitting the stone wall with a crack loud enough that Hinata wouldn't be surprised if it broke bones.

Hisashi stalked forward, a flick of his wand sending Ueno's own flying towards Hisashi before the other had even gathered what was going on.

By the time Ueno had let out his first moan, Hisashi had a wand an inch away from his face.

Hisashi smiled and Hinata absently noticed that his face was no longer held in that blank, dead expression but instead there was a bright anger behind his eyes focused entirely on Ueno.

Ueno blinked in confusion. "Noroi, what-"

"You know, Ueno," Hisashi said casually. "I'll admit, when you first approached, I really didn't know what to do. _Obviously_ , I wasn't going to go along with your idiotic idea of an ultimatum. But, as far as how I was going to get my hands on the papers, I was honestly stumped."

Keeping his wand trained on Ueno, Hisashi waved his other hand with the papers and Ueno's wand still clutched tightly.

"I never believed you would be so stupid as to hand over your only evidence."

Ueno's face turned an angry red color. "You think the papers were all I needed. You still admitted it to me, Noroi, and I'm going to tell _everyone._ You really believe you can keep your secret then?"

Hisashi sighed heavily, looking down at Ueno as someone would for dirt on their shoe. "Oh, Ueno, this is why your father doesn't trust you as Heir. In case you missed it, that would've been a lovely opportunity to try to bluff. Not that it would've done you any good."

"What do you mean," Ueno asked, dumbly. "What are you going to do?"

Hisashi raised an eyebrow. "You mean you haven't guessed?"

The color drained out of Ueno's face, replaced with the first notion of true fear.

Hisashi shook his head. "You're an idiot, Ueno. You've always been an idiot. But, even I didn't think you were stupid enough to forget my family's motto."

Ueno breath was coming heavier as he stared at the wand.

"Superbiam Nunquam Cadere," quoted Hisashi. "Pride never falls."

He moved closer until he was speaking directly in Ueno's face. "You think I threw my pride away. _Please,_ Ichiro is better than you or your entire family will ever be."

Hisashi leaned back and tilted his head. "You know...I really should kill you for the grave insult to both me and my ally"

"Noroi...Hisashi, _please_ ," Ueno begged.

"Oh, don't worry, I won't," Hisashi reassured him "Too many questions. This serves my purpose much better."

Ueno's eyes widened before-

" _Obliviate."_

They stared forward, blankly.

Hisashi lowered his wand, expression clearing until all that shone was something like pity.

"Idiot," Hisashi muttered before holding his wand back up at Ueno, the tip glowing a bright blue.

"Now, listen closely. You have no memory of anything concerning Ichiro Ignathe's muggleborn heritage. In fact, the idea never even crossed your mind. If it had, you'd find it preposterous. Any search you made into Ichiro or me ended in dead ends until you eventually gave up. You're here now because you picked a fight with a fourth year and it went horrible for you. You'll be too ashamed to tell anyone ever. Understand?"

Ueno merely blinked in reply, expression still dazed.

"Good," Hisashi said, throwing Ueno's wand on the ground beside him.

Without looking back, Hisashi turned and waved his wand to cancel the privacy charms before slipping out the door.

Hinata followed behind, still mostly stunned.

Instead of turning back to the Slytherin common room-like Hinata half expected-Hisashi went the opposite direction, climbing up the stairs of the Astronomy tower.

The sun was setting over the mountains and below the whole lake seemed to glow.

Hisashi smiled, eyes landing on the Astronomy tower's other visitor.

"Hey."

"Hey," Ichiro said, leaning back on the railing with a returning smile, "so you going to tell me where you were and why I had to spend most of today in the Hospital Wing, faking a major intestinal issue?"

Hisashi came to relax on the railing beside him. "I just had to take out some trash."

Ichiro snorted. "Mysterious. You really not going to tell me?"

"Trust me?"

"Always," Ichiro said, eyes warm.

Together, the two friends looked out onto the setting sun, painting the world in golden hues.

Ichiro sighed, leaning his head in his hands. "You know, I'm really going to miss this place."

Hisashi bumped his shoulder into his. "Thinking about graduation already?"

"Don't remind me." Ichiro rolled his eyes before the smile faded into an abruptly serious expression.

"Hisashi," Ichiro said, voice so soft it was almost a whisper, "I don't want to see this place destroyed. I...I want to protect it."

Hisashi stilled. "What are you talking about?"

Ichiro turned, eyes determined. "You were right. Muggles _destroy_ things. They dig trenches and make guns and build bombs that can level entire cities. Destruction….it's just what they do, Hisashi. It's what they're _good_ at. It's what they did to my brother and, if we let them, it's what they'll do to the Wizarding World, too."

Hisashi swallowed, frowning. "So, what do you want to do about it?"

"I want to stop them," Ichiro said, earnestly. "I want to….I don't know, we've built up all those political connections, established all those ties, why not do something about it? The Wizamagot's never going to change their mind alone. We need to show them."

"Sounds like you want to start a rebellion," Hisashi joked without humor.

Ichiro shrugged. "Maybe that's what it will take."

Hisashi paused, considering. "We'd need allies, of course. Maybe even a full alliance...or a society...or-"

Hisashi cut off.

"What is it," Ichiro pressed. "That's your thinking face."

"The Grand and Honorable Order of Secrecy and Tradition," Hisashi said with a grin. "It's perfect."

"That's so long," Ichiro complained. "We'd need to shorten it. How about G.H.O.S.T...the Ghosts?"

Hinata stopped breathing. His heart stuttering so suddenly in his chest, it was painful.

"I suppose that would work, too," Hisashi huffed. "If you want to be plebeian about it."

"Only because I want people able to remember it." Ichiro smirked.

"No," Hinata pleaded, entirely unheard. "Don't…"

"Anything else you want to add," Ichiro asked, half serious and half banter.

Hisashi's hand moved unconsciously to smooth over his robes where Hinata knew he'd placed the papers.

"If you're going to do this," Hisashi began, slowly, "you'd need a pseudonym...for protection."

"Yeah?" Ichiro raised an eyebrow and Hinata knew before the words were spoken.

"The Giant."

And then, Hisashi smiled. He smiled as if the world hadn't changed around him

"After all, it's close enough to Ignathe anyway-minus a bit of rearranging."

"The Giant," Ichiro repeated, weighing the words in his mouth. "I like it. Not too dramatic?"

"You're starting a rebellion, Ichiro," Hisashi pointed out. "It pays to be dramatic."

"True enough," Ichiro allowed. He regarded Hisashi steadily. "You know...this could get dangerous. You don't have to do this with me."

"Please," Hisashi rolled his eyes, throwing an arm around Ichiro's shoulders. "It's like I said before, you can't do this without me."

There was a pause where Ichiro didn't say anything and then…

"You're a good friend to me, Hisashi," Ichiro said, leaning in under the weight of the arm.

Hisashi smiled. "You're more than a friend, you're family."

Ichiro smiled back, the sun shining down on his face.

"Then that sounds like a bright future"

The two stood there, happy and lit by the light.

Hinata wanted to scream but couldn't find the air.

Seconds passed and Hinata slowly realized that it was more than just a pause in conversation.

The world had stopped. The memory was frozen.

Hinata barely had a second to process before the floor was yanked out from under him.

He fell.

And, he kept falling.

He was sinking into a deep darkness that pushed and pulled until Hinata felt like he was being pulled apart.

Hinata finally found the breath to scream and opened his mouth to...

He landed hard on wooden flooring, breathing heavily.

The world around him settled again.

"Forgive me," a voice echoed across the room and Hinata scrambled to his feet to see an old man regarding him from an ornately carved chair. "I know placing memories back to back makes for an uncomfortable travel but I believed, if I gave you the option to look away now, you'd never come back."

Hinata was still trying to catch his breath, slowly noticing that the man wasn't quite looking him in the eye. Hinata moved experimentally, but the gaze stayed steady.

"You're another memory," Hinata breathed out in realization.

The old man didn't answer, not to that question at least.

"So, my dear grandson, now you know how my story began," the old man continued. "I'd apologize again for the lack of entries after but you're well aware how the story ended. If anything, my youthful distraction from continuing the diary may have proved a blessing in disguise. No one needs that many details of mine and Ichiro's crimes. My burden's heavy enough already."

Hinata stared. The face that was much more gaunt and now framed by white hair but the angles were still the same. The eyes, more dark, but still with the familiar intensity.

The man- _Hisashi_ bowed his head. "My grandson, I am an old man, who feels even older than I should. And I have so, so many regrets."

Hisashi's hand moved slightly and Hinata noted the diary held almost reverently in long, withered hands. "You know what came after mine and Ichiro's promise. You know how our campaign turned into a war, our mission to a massacre. You know how we, in trying to protect our world, nearly brought it to utter destruction. You know and I know that I have so much to beg for forgiveness and not nearly enough lifetimes to do it." Hisashi huffed out something too bitter to be a laugh. "If not my life, then at least my death will bring some peace. Of that, I'm sure."

Hisashi swallowed. "But, as I said, you know these regrets. Even if you may not have known I recognize them as well. Even if you wouldn't believe me if I told you. These are not the regrets I wanted to tell you, not why I wanted you to see my diary. That regret-my biggest-is of a more selfish nature."

"I failed." Hisashi lifted his head and there was so much pain, so much _grief_ in his eyes that Hinata almost looked away. " _I failed_ _him._ I failed my friend and destroyed him just as surely as if I killed him myself. And the worst part, the fact that's nearly taken me with it, is that I didn't even realize what I'd done until after he was gone."

Hisashi shook his head and Hinata noticed tears running down his face. "You think you know me, my grandson. You think me a monster shrouded in darkness, completely unaware of my misdeeds. But you are _wrong_. I'm the monster, who was only able to see his reflection after it was far too late to change anything. I know."

Hisashi's breathing was getting faster and faster, eyes trained on the ground in a way that made Hinata think he was talking to himself more than anyone watching the memory.

"I _know,_ " Hisashi repeated, a quiet agony in his voice. "Ichiro trusted me. My best friend trusted me. And all I taught him was hatred and my own prejudices. I should have-" Hisashi stopped, struggling to compose himself. "He was my best friend. He was my family. I loved him. And I couldn't see that he was destroying himself...I was so blinded trying to help him that I couldn't tell when he should've stopped...How could I have? When did…" Hisashi shook his head. "Somehow doing anything for my friend turned into standing beside him while we did the worst of things."

Hisashi's eyes flickered up, landing unconsciously on Hinata. "If you want to know me, then you should know: the worst thing isn't people thinking you're wrong, it's convincing someone you love that a wrong is right."

Hinata's heart stuttered and Hisashi paused again to gather himself.

"Superbiam Nunquam Cadere," Hisashi said, dryly. "As if this family's pride hasn't been our biggest fall. Do you want to know why I asked you to have my diary? I've lost almost everything I love. Everything, except you and your parents. And you...my Heir...please, don't make the same mistakes I did. Please, not again. I've watched you grow up. You're strong and determined. You care about your friends and you hate me with a passion. I understand."

"But…" Hisashi closed his eyes, leaning back in his chair, "this family has a history of destroying the things they love. That's our real curse. I don't want this for you. You believe you're right and you show your distaste for those you believe are wrong. I know. I did the same. But, you can be _better_ than me. The world is no simple dichotomy with you allies on one side and your opponents on the other. The moment you divest the world of its complexities is the moment you begin to believe anything you do is right. That was _my_ sin. Please, don't let it be yours."

Hisashi opened his eyes and Hinata stood straight in front of him.

"My grandson...Koushi, you may be a Sugawara, but you will always be a Noroi, too. Don't let our curse destroy you, as well."

Hinata's heart stopped.

"Goodbye, Koushi."

The scene around Hinata was washed away like smoke and Hinata frantically attempted to grab at the wisps, trying to find a hold before-

Hinata broke away from the diary to find himself once again, in the owlery, and trying desperately to piece together his thoughts.

One burned the brightest.

"Suga…"

ooooooo

A/N:

Next Chapter: A Chain of Events


	22. A Chain of Events

Kuroo was practically doubled over, laughing.

"It was a good idea," Bokuto protested. "How was I supposed to know Ravenclaw would ban me from the tower?!"

This explanation did nothing except set Kuroo off another round of laughter, face beginning to turn red.

Akaashi raised an eyebrow. "You wanted to fly your broom off the tower on one of the the windiest days of the year."

"For science," Bokuto explained. "Come on! Ravenclaws are supposed to be all about collecting knowledge!"

"Not when their own papers blew out the window," Akaashi retorted.

Bokuto blushed, sheepishly.

"How did I not know about this," Kuroo asked in wonder. "Seriously, how did I never know that _this_ was how you were banned?"

Bokuto muttered something unintelligible.

"I believe there was an unofficial house mandate never to speak of that day again," Akaashi answered. "For the sanity of all involved."

Bokuto shuddered. "Yaku still glares at me whenever I get too close to his school bag."

Kuroo snickered.

"On the bright side," Bokuto added with a grin. "Gryffindor thought it was a _great_ idea for me to use their tower."

Akaashi rolled his eyes.

"I needed this," Kuroo said with a smile. "I really, really needed this."

"Maybe we should tell it to Suga," Bokuto mumbled. "See if it'll work on him."

The levity of Kuroo's face settled into something more serious. "Or Iwaizumi."

Akaashi looked between the two of them before glancing down at his watch. "It's almost curfew."

"Yeah." Kuroo sighed. "Come on, let's go grab Iwaizumi from the Hospital Wing before he falls asleep there."

"And find Suga," Bokuto added. "After dinner, you don't think…"

"That he was avoiding us? Definitely," Kuroo said, grimly. "You're right. Better go see what that's about, too. I think I know some places he might be hiding."

Bokuto nodded, hefting his bag higher on his shoulder.

Kuroo stared at it. "Bo, that is the ugliest-"

"-ly beautiful bag that I'm sure Akaashi put tons of work into," Bokuto finished quickly, smiling brightly at the third member of their group.

Kuroo looked at him, askance, and Akaashi suppressed a smile.

"Night, Akaashi," Bokuto said, grabbing Kuroo's arm. "Good luck with studying!"

Akaashi gave a small wave in return. "Good night..."

Bokuto pulled Kuroo with him and Akaashi waited until they both disappeared down the hall, leaving Akaashi alone.

"...and good luck," Akaashi finished.

ooooooo

"Oh, Merlin," Noya shouted, pointing at the map. "Everyone! Come look! Quick!"

Ennoshita's head shot up. "Is it the Heir?! Is someone petrified?"

"What? No," Noya said, shaking his head immediately.

The rest of the room relaxed, Tsukishima rolling his eyes and Ennoshita turning back to his game of Wizard's Chess with Tanaka.

"It's better," Noya continued, holding out the map. "Look! Daichi's talking to Suga!"

The group looked back up in interest.

"Oh," Yamaguchi said, taking the map when Noya handed it to him. "Do you think he's going to ask him out?"

"He better," Tanaka answered, wincing as Ennoshita took out one of his knights. "The year's almost over. He doesn't have much time left."

"Especially if they don't open the school next year because of the petrifications," Asahi added, glumly.

"We'll figure it out," Noya reassured, bumping into Asahi's shoulder.

"They're still talking," Yamaguchi announced, looking at the map. "I think he might actually do it this time!"

"Finally," Tsukishima muttered, idly fiddling with one of the old Snitches laying around Noya's side of the room.

Yamaguchi smiled. "Come on, Tsuki, you want Daichi to be happy just as much as the rest of us!"

"Shut up, Yamaguchi."

"Sorry, Tsuki," Yamaguchi said, still smiling.

Tsukishima threw the Snitch at him.

Yamaguchi laughed, standing up to put the Snitch back on the shelf.

"What if Suga doesn't say yes," Asahi asked, looking panicked. "That would be terrible! Maybe Daichi should wait and-"

"Of course, he'll say yes," Noya interrupted. "It's _Daichi_! Daichi's awesome! How could he say no?"

"Besides," Ennoshita said, not looking up from the board, "have you seen the way Suga's been looking _back_ at Daichi. No way he doesn't like him, too. They just needed a push."

"Aww, who knew you were such a romantic, Ennoshita," Tanaka teased.

Ennoshita blushed, taking Tanaka's remaining rook in retribution.

"And hey, maybe after we get Daichi and Suga together, we can finally come up with a group name," Noya said, hopefully.

Ennoshita groaned.

"We don't need a group name," Tsukishima argued.

"Do, too," Noya insisted.

"Why?"

"They're awesome!"

"They're stupid."

" _You're_ stupid," Noya said, sticking out his tongue.

"I'm not even going to respond to that."

And with that, Tsukishima turned back to his school book and ignored Noya's grin.

Tanaka hummed. "For a name, what about The Super, Mega, Awesome-"

"Guys," Yamaguchi interrupted.

"No, that doesn't work." Tanaka shook his head.

"Guys," Yamaguchi repeated, eyes not leaving the map. "Something's wrong."

The air stilled.

"What is it," Tsukishima asked, already coming to lean over Yamaguchi's shoulder while the rest stood in anticipation

"I-it's Daichi," stammered Yamaguchi. "I just looked away for-I don't know, maybe, a minute-and now, he's _gone_."

"What do you mean 'gone," Ennoshita demanded, standing at Yamaguchi's other side. "Like he moved or-"

"No," Yamaguchi answered. "He's just gone. He was right here in the middle of the castle and now, nothing. His name vanished."

"Did he use a secret passageway," Tsukishima asked.

Tanaka shook his head. "Not in that part of the castle. There are none. Too many pipes."

"Is he…." Asahi swallowed. "Is he petrified?"

A thick tension hung in the and slowly, Noya shook his head.

"No," Noya said, considering. "Then his name would go grey like the others. Yamaguchi's right. It's like Daichi just disappeared-right off the map."

Ennoshita frowned. "How-"

"Suga," Asahi broke in.

The group looked at him.

"You said he was talking to Suga, right," Asahi asked. "Then, Suga would know what happened."

"Suga's name is still on the map," Yamaguchi pointed to it.

"Then, let's go," Tanaka announced, already heading to the door.

"Wait, we can't all just corner him," Yamaguchi asked, hesitantly. "Can we?"

"We can if he knows something," Tsukishima retorted. "Come on, we're not going to get anywhere, just standing around."

"But-" Yamaguchi shook his head, before following-Asahi right behind him.

Walking to the door, Noya felt a hand on his arm.

"Noya," Ennoshita said, careful not to let his voice carry to the others. "With the mapping spells, is there any way someone could just...not show up? A cloaking spell or an invisibility cloak or…"

"Not unless they're…" Noya bit his lip, looking at Ennoshita with an uncharacteristic fear in his eyes. "As long as we marked the room, it should show everyone….As long as they're alive."

ooooooo

Sitting in the Hufflepuff common room, Yachi looked up with a frown.

"What is it," Kageyama asked, turning another page and suppressing a yawn.

"Hinata should be back by now," Yachi said.

Kageyama stopped reading

"Do you think he's okay?"

Yachi waved a hand, giving a slightly forced smile. "I'm sure it's nothing."

"Maybe he just lost track of time," Kageyama suggested, but he was already putting the book down and standing up.

Yachi nodded, following suit. "Or he got distracted. He's definitely fine, though. Right?"

"Right," Kageyama agreed, heading for the door.

"Exactly." Yachi joined him. "And we're being silly for worrying?"

Kageyama shoved the door open. "Yeah."

"It _is_ almost curfew, though," Yachi pointed out as if they weren't already heading towards the owlry.

Kageyama nodded. "Would definitely be bad if Hinata missed curfew. He might get detention and miss Quidditch."

Yachi let out a nervous laugh. "We can't let him miss Quidditch. Really, the only thing we can do is go find him to make sure he's...um, not late for curfew."

"Absolutely," Kageyama said, pace picking up.

Yachi matched him, sighing and mumbling under her breath. "I just hope he's alright."

ooooooo

Hinata was not alright.

Hinata was not alright at all.

The diary laid in his lap with all the weight of an anchor. Above him, Karasuna was making increasingly concerned noises that Hinata blocked out.

The details kept flashing through his mind in an endless repetition that still didn't help Hinata make any sense of them.

Ichiro was the Giant. Hisashi was his right hand. They….

Hinata stopped, restarted.

Hisashi was the Heir of Slytherin. Suga-Hinata's Suga, the silver haired Slytherin with the kind smile-was his grandson. That meant Suga was...he was…

Hinata stopped again.

Six people had been petrified. Everyone….everyone said the Heir of Slytherin was behind it. Oikawa had said it. Kenma had said it. _Yachi_ had said it. All of the smartest people Hinata knew seemed to be in agreement. But if the Heir was petrifying people and Suga was the Heir then…

It didn't make sense. Suga was nice and he helped Hinata with potions and he talked to him about Quidditch and….and Suga wouldn't do that. Right?

That had to be right. Suga was a good person. Hinata knew him.

 _But you thought that about Hisashi and Ichiro, too,_ a tiny voice in the back of Hinata's mind whispered.

Hinata shoved it to the side.

No, no, Hinata was right and he...he would prove it.

All he needed to do was find Suga.

He pushed off the ground and headed for the door, the diary held tight in his hands.

ooooooo

"I would've left before curfew," Iwaizumi grumbled, obligingly letting Kuroo and Bokuto pull each of his arms.

"Sure you would've," Kuroo said, sounding entirely unconvinced.

Iwaizumi glared.

"Besides, you're only our first stop," Bokuto said, blithely. "We've still gotta find Suga."

"I told you, I think I've got a pretty good idea where he went," Kuroo muttered, steering them down a new hallway.

Iwaizumi's glared melted into a frown. "Something's up with Suga?"

Bokuto and Kuroo exchanged a look.

"That's what we're going to see," Kuroo answered.

ooooooo

The group of six stared down at the object held in Asahi's hands.

"That's not a good sign, is it," Yamaguchi asked, softly.

No one answered.

Asahi grimaced, gathering up the rest of Daichi's books and quills from where they had spilled out of the bag on the floor.

"This is the last place you saw Daichi on the map, right," Ennoshita said, tone not quite a question or a statement.

Yamaguchi nodded. "Maybe...maybe he dropped it and didn't notice it?"

"His whole bag? Not likely," Tsukishima muttered.

"But that's….that's good, yeah," Tanaka stammered. "If his bag's here, it means….it means he's not petrified. He must've just...just went somewhere else. That's why he's not on the map. It has to be. There's no other way, right?"

Noya swallowed, eyes darting to Ennoshita.

Ennoshita looked down, finger tracing the name _Koushi Sugawara._

"Let's go ask."

ooooooo

Yachi and Kageyama barely had made the turn to the owlery when something heavy slammed into them from down the stairs, nearly knocking them over.

Kageyama recovered first, blinking away the disorientation

"Hinata," Kageyama yelled. "Idiot! What where you're-"

He stopped, taking in Hinata's heavy breathing, the flush on his cheeks, the distracted expression.

"Hinata," Yachi asked in a much calmer voice, reaching for his shoulders. "Hinata? Is everything okay?"

Hinata shook his head, struggling to catch his breath. "No….I've gotta...I've gotta go…"

"Go where," Kageyama questioned at the same time as Yachi's "What's wrong?"

"Suga," Hinata said and it took Kageyama a second to realize he didn't know which question that was supposed to answer.

He didn't get the chance to ask before Hinata's eyes met his, the familiar determined fire burning behind them.

"I need to find Suga."

ooooooo

Suga rubbed his robe across his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried desperately to remember the right concealing charm for puffy eyes.

The last thing he needed was to go back to his dorm room, looking like he'd been crying.

This night had already been terrible enough

Suga's breath hitched and he attempted to push the tightness back down his throat and told himself once again that he'd made the right decision. Daichi would be safe now.

Suga would be alone but they'd all be _safe._

The sound of quick footsteps interrupted his thoughts and he barely had time to look up before-

"Suga," Tanaka shouted, frantic hands grabbing at Suga's robes. "Daichi's dis-"

"Do you know where Daichi is," Ennoshita's voice cut through.

Suga frowned, a small part in the back of his mind noticing the rest of Daichi's friends had gathered anxiously at the corner of his vision.

"I...he left already," Suga said, voice tilting up in confusion. "I...I thought he'd be back in the dorms by now."

"If that's where he was heading, he never made it," Tsukishima said, darkly.

The little amount of air Suga had chilled in his lungs.

"What do you mean," he asked in a voice much too calm to be his own.

Asahi stepped forward, holding a very familiar bag. "Daichi's missing, Suga. We found his bag in the next hall over. You were the last person to see him so if you heard or anything or saw…"

There were more words, more voices, but Suga wasn't processing them anymore, sinking out of Tanaka's loose hold and down onto the ground so hard it was almost painful.

Daichi was missing. Daichi was probably petrified. And Suga was the last person to see him which meant…

"This is all my fault," Suga whispered.

Around him, the voices went silent. The movements halted. The moment was suspended carefully on a knife's edge until…

"What do you mean this is _your fault_ ," Tsukishima demanded, words clear and dangerous.

Suga's heart stopped, looking up at the younger Slytherin in terror.

"Tsuki…" Yamaguchi began.

"No." Tsukishima shook him off, eyes never leaving Suga. "What. Did. You. Mean. _Your Fault_?"

"I…," Suga began, scrambling up the wall.

The others were circled around him, unintentionally or not blocking him in. They were all staring at him, expressions varying from confused to suspicious.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it how it sounded," Asahi broke in. "Right, Suga?"

Suga's gaze went to Asahi's sincere expression.

Suga swallowed. "I…"

Ennoshita's eyes widened. " _Oh Merlin…._ it really is you, isn't it?"

"What do you mean," Tanaka asked, brows knitting together.

Ennoshita jerked his head towards Suga, mouth hardening into something unforgiving that Suga recognized from the faces of strangers as he walked through Diagon Alley with his parents at his side.

It had never been directed at him before.

"He's the Heir of Slytherin," Ennoshita said.

For a second, no one said anything.

And then Noya let out a sharp bark of laugh, more akin to a cry of pain than humor.

"What are you talking about, Ennoshita," Noya said with a grin. "That's crazy! Suga...Suga can't be the Heir of Slytherin. That would mean….well…."

"Then, why isn't he answering," Yamaguchi breathed out, looking at Suga in honest confusion.

"I…." Suga tried again. "I don't…"

The words died on his tongue and not soon after, he found a wand shoved in his face.

"He's not answering because he can't deny it," Tsukishima answered, anger clenched in his face while his wand held steady. "Now, what did you do to Daichi?"

"I didn't…" Suga's heart hammered in his chest. "I don't _know_ what happened to Daichi?"

Behind Tsukishima, Ennoshita raised his wand in a single decisive gesture.

"I don't believe you," said the normally calm boy.

Suga didn't say anything.

"Please," Ennoshita said, a new tone of desperation in his voice. "You have to know Daichi cares about you. I thought you cared about him, too."

"I do," Suga interrupted, a tear rolling down his cheek.

Ennoshita regarded him, obviously trying to tell whether he could trust him.

Finally, he sighed-not lowering his wand.

"Then, tell us what you know," Ennoshita ordered.

 _I can't_ , thought Suga, hopelessly. _I don't know._

There must've been some kind of answer in Suga's face because Ennoshita opened his mouth again to say-

" _Expelliarmus."_

Ennoshita's wand-followed quickly by Tsukishima's-flew through the air before landing in the hands of a very familiar presence.

Kuroo smirked in a way that was far, _far_ from pleasant.

"Now, what do we have here?"

Bokuto and Iwaizumi were behind him, wands already drawn.

Kuroo strode forward, wand still raised, until he hit the edges of the circle.

"I think it would be a much safer option," Kuroo began, casually, "if you all would step away from my friend now."

Tsukishima glared, not backing down. "What we _have_ is Daichi missing and your _friend's_ the one behind it."

Iwaizumi frowned, glancing toward Asahi. "What is he talking about?"

"Um, w-we think," Asahi stammered before stopping, taking a breath, and meeting his dormmate's eyes steadily. "We think Suga's the Heir, Iwaizumi."

Bokuto groaned. "Ugh, I thought we dealt with this rumor already. Suga's _not_ the Heir. He's like...he's like whatever the opposite of the Heir would be."

"He basically admitted to it," Tanaka muttered, raising his own wand at Suga. "Ennoshita _asked_ him and...and he didn't deny it."

Iwaizumi pointed his wand at Tanaka. "I'd lower that wand if I were you."

"No," Tanaka refused. "He knows what happened to Daichi. We're not backing down until he tells us."

Tanaka took a breath to start a spell.

"I'll disarm you before you can think about it," Iwaizumi warned.

A new wand pointed at Iwaizumi.

"Ah, sorry," Yamaguchi said, offering an apologetic smile. "I know he's your friend but...well, Daichi's our friend, too."

Asahi cleared his throat. "Alright, I t-think we should all j-just stop and think about this for a second b-because-"

"Cause this is really stupid," Bokuto interrupted. "Suga's not the Heir of Slytherin! Right, Suga?"

All eyes turned to Suga.

Suga's throat went dry, scrambling to find words and…

...and failing.

Bokuto frowned. "Er, Suga? Why aren't you saying anything?"

"Cause, he' the Heir, idiot," Tsukishima grumbled.

"Shut up," growled Iwaizumi before looking back to Suga. "Go on, Suga."

Suga couldn't.

"Suga," Kuroo said, a note of urgency entering his voice. "You need to tell them."

Suga opened his mouth but no words came out.

"See." Ennoshita sighed. "He can't deny it. Now, tell us what happened to Daichi."

"No," Iwaizumi snarled. "Suga, tell them you're not the Heir."

"Tell us what happened to Daichi," Yamaguchi begged.

"Suga," Kuroo yelled. "Tell them you're not the Heir."

"Tell us!"

"Tell them!"

"I…" Suga began.

"STOP!"

Everyone stopped and, in unison, looked to the end of the hall.

Hinata stood there, flanked by Kageyama and Yachi, and staring directly at Suga as if the rest weren't even there.

Hinata walked forward.

"Um, Hinata," Yachi said, nervously. "I think we're interrupting."

Hinata ignored her, continuing until he stood in the middle of the circle, in between Suga and Tanaka's wand, right in front of Suga.

Suga met his eyes and Hinata thrust something towards him.

And Suga looked down to see the diary he thought he'd lost months ago.

His grandfather's diary.

Suga frowned, looking back up to Hinata and...and Hinata was looking at him with an expression he'd never had before. Something….something accepting and pleading and hopeful and...and _understanding_ and…

Hinata knew.

"Suga," Hinata said, "please, tell me the truth."

Suga breathed.

"I am the Heir of Slytherin."

ooooooo

A/N: Thanks everyone for your support

Next Chapter: The Heir and His Monster


	23. The Heir and His Monster

"I am the Heir of Slytherin." Suga swallowed. "But I don't know what's happening."

There was silence and Suga focused on Hinata, trying to block out the reactions of everyone outside of his immediate eye-line. Maybe….well, at least that way he'd only see the betrayal bloom on one face.

For a single moment, it was like everything happened in slow motion.

Acknowledgement reflected in Hinata's eyes for just a second before he closed them, lowering his head as he did so.

Suga felt his heart drop and he almost spoke before Hinata lifted his head again.

Hinata's expression cleared, meeting Suga's eyes again, and Suga tensed and...

And then...and then Hinata _smiled_ , letting out a sigh of relief as he did.

"I believe you," Hinata told him.

Suga's breath left him in a rush.

"Wait, what?" The sound of Bokuto's voice broke through the small peace and Suga's head shot up to the rest of the crowd.

"What do you mean you don't know what's happening," Ennoshita asked, cautiously.

"He's lying," Tsukishima snarled. "He has to be lying. He's just trying to protect himself now that we know."

"Hey," Hinata shouted, spinning around and glaring. "Suga wouldn't lie!"

Kuroo hummed, the soft sound cutting through the arguments and leaving a tense quiet in their wake.

Suga met his eyes and fought back a wince. Kuroo was looking at him with a distant kind of hurt wrapped up in an almost childlike confusion.

"Why didn't you tell us, Suga?"

"I...I didn't want you to hate me," Suga said, softly.

Bokuto frowned. "Why would we hate you?"

"B-because," Suga stammered, "it's my family. It's always my family. They do terrible things and people suffer. Even if I don't know how...it's like Tsukishima said...I'm the Heir of Slytherin so it has to be fault somehow. But...but I don't know how to fix it. I don't even know what's happening. And then..." Suga became distantly aware that he was crying, "and then you were all so interested in finding the Heir and stopping the petrifications and...and how could I tell you it was me? You've already looked past so much when it came to my family...you all are the first _to look past it_...how could I give you something else? If I didn't want to lose you then how could I...I...And then, Oikawa was petrified and I thought….I thought maybe it was inevitable. That anyone around me would end up being hurt so…." Suga's breath hitched. "I just don't want to hurt anyone."

Suga tried to wipe his face on his sleeve but a hand reached out and stopped him.

"Don't be an idiot," Iwaizumi said, gruffly.

And then, Suga was being pulled in with arms wrapping around his shoulders.

Suga's heart stopped.

An arm slung around them from the other side and then Bokuto was pressed in, too. Kuroo reached over and lightly flicked Suga's head. "We're not going anywhere, Suga."

Iwaizumi finally let go and Suga stared at them, open mouthed and questioning.

Bokuto grinned.

And, slowly, something jagged and sharp in Suga's chest began to gradually ease.

"Well, that's really great," Tsukishima interrupted with his arms crossed together, "but if _you_ don't even know what happened-which I'm still not entirely convinced about, by the way-then we still have nothing and no amount of sitting around and knitting friendship bracelets is going to help."

Iwaizumi glared. "Has anyone ever told you you're a bit of a dick?"

"Frequently," Tsukishima answered dryly, "but I'm a dick, whose friend is missing so at least this time I've got an excuse."

"Um, excuse me," a quiet voice popped up as Yachi carefully made her way into the circle, "but, er, if someone could explain what's going on, I would, um, very much appreciate it."

"Daichi's missing," Yamaguchi told her. "We saw him on the map talking to Suga so we thought he might know but…." Yamaguchi's brows knit together, "apparently no one knows what's going on."

"What map," Kageyama asked.

Noya unfolded what ended up being a rather large piece of paper. " _This_ map. We made it to show where everyone is in the castle."

Yachi's eyes flew to it, holding her hand out to touch it with almost reverence while her other hand clenched at her bag. "That's….that's brilliant."

Noya shrugged. "We thought we'd be able to figure out what's happening with the pertifications," his finger drifted to the names in grey, "but then...then Yamaguchi saw Daichi disappear off of it so...well, you know the rest."

"We found his bag in the next hall over," Asahi put in, holding up the bag in his hands.

Kageyama frowned. "A secret passageway?"

Surprisingly, Yachi shook her head before anyone else could answer. "It can't be, there's too many pipes in the walls."

Tanaka nodded before looking to Suga in desperation. "You don't know _anything_? Even if it wasn't you, you're the Heir. You have to know something."

"I...I'm sorry," Suga said. "I don't know anything except the legend. There's nothing I've found yet in the family archives or the Gringotts vault. I thought maybe my grandfather's diary might-"

"No," Hinata interrupted suddenly. "There's nothing in there about the Chamber of Secrets or Slytherin's monster."

Suga's head jerked to Hinata, opening his mouth to ask-

Kuroo sighed, falling back on the window seat. "So, we have nothing. All year and all that research and what do we have?" He held up his fingers, ticking them off. "We still don't even know what's being used to petrify people. We don't know where the Chamber of Secrets is or if it actually exists. We know who the Heir is but even he doesn't know what's going on. And we don't know why any of this is even happening. All we have is an old legend that may or not be true, a map with people disappearing off it, and," Kuroo dug in his pocket and pulled out Oikawa's last note, "a fairy tale that doesn't make any sense."

"A fairy tale," Yamaguchi asked in confusion.

"Here," Kuroo handed it over. "Oikawa had it when he was petrified. We think it has something to do with the petrifications but...it doesn't make sense."

"This is a curse." Yamaguchi frowned, reading over the paper.

Kuroo nodded.

"Ah," Yamaguchi winced, "that's a _terrible_ curse."

"What is it," Asahi asked with obvious trepidation.

Yamaguchi swallowed. "It's about the fall of Bornholm. Their princess was placed under a curse to try to gain control of the kingdom."

"What kind of curse," Hinata broke in.

"A dark one," Yamaguchi answered. "It looks like a cross between the Imperius curse and Legilimency...The wizard who cast it died almost instantly and the princess was put in an unending sleep until she died of old age decades later which is really just…." Yamaguchi shuddered. "I'm glad it failed."

"And yes, I double checked," Kuroo added. "The curse is very specific that it's a _sleep_ the princess fell under. _Not_ a petrification."

"Then, what's the point of the story," Tsukishima questioned.

Kuroo shrugged. "Merlin knows. The best I can figure is that maybe Oikawa thought that a petrification spell was derived from the original curse. Though why he thought that one over some of the better fits, I have no idea."

"Oikawa was…" Iwaizumi stopped, took a breath, and started again. "Oikawa said he was onto something right before he was petrified. All the spells and potions he'd found didn't make sense with the descriptions. A basilisk or any of the creatures wasn't likely given the timeframe between the Founders' time and now. And he didn't think it was charm since nothing was found on the victims." Iwaizumi sighed. "He was trying to find any old legends that referenced anything like it but..."

Iwaizumi trailed off, looking down, and the group fell silent.

Yamaguchi reached out to hand the paper back to Kuroo.

"Wait."

Before anyone could react, Noya snatched the paper out of Yamaguchi's hand and started reading it, eyes flying down the page.

Then, suddenly, he stopped-face going pale and, for the first time any of the group could remember, looking afraid.

"Oh….," Noya said, page gripped tightly in his hands. "Oh, shit."

"What is it," Asahi asked, speaking for the group.

"The curse," Noya muttered, looking back down at the page. "Merlin, he could've actually used this."

"Who," Tanaka asked at the same time as Kuroo's "The petrifications aren't anything like the curse."

"Not the petrifications," Noya answered before frowning. "But how….why wouldn't…"

"Ah, is anyone else confused," Bokuto questioned, looking around the rest of the group.

"Noya," Ennoshita called, getting the other teen's attention.

"This doesn't make sense," Noya said, distracted. "I mean it _does_ make sense on how….but not the….how has no one _died?!_ "

"Noya," Ennoshita tried again, grabbing his shoulder. "Explain."

"It's a basilisk," Noya said and a chill went through the room. "It has to be. It's the only thing that makes sense."

Only silence greeted his words until Tanaka let out another quiet and heartfelt curse.

"B-but I thought," Asahi began, "...I thought you said it couldn't be a basilisk. That it would take too long for a basilisk to mature enough to petrify people and…how could someone even get a basilisk into the castle anyway?"

"The basilisk was already here," Noya answered, grimly. "He's _been_ here since the Founders."

"That's impossible." Iwaizumi shook his head, looking unsure. "I mean….it has to be impossible, right? How could no one notice a giant snake hidden in the castle for over a millennium? And it would have to go out of hiding eventually, yeah? There's no way it could be still be alive...not without food or magic."

"The curse," Kuroo realized abruptly. "The curse doesn't have anything to do with the petrifications. You think Slytherin used it on a _bloody basilisk_."

Noya nodded. "It's why no one's seen him before. The basilisk was asleep under the curse. The story said the princess died of old age. Not starvation or dehydration, _old age._ The curse kept the basilisk alive but asleep.."

"You said it takes basilisk a century to mature enough to petrify people," Ennoshita said. " _That's_ why Slytherin himself didn't use it. The basilisk wasn't old enough so he left it for his heirs to use."

"He can't just…" Tanaka looked towards Noya. "Nothing could've survived that long without _any food_ , right? Even with magic."

"Nothing could and remain sane," Noya said, face dark. "I think...This curse is terrible. It would keep the basilisk alive but...the damage that long without a non-magical source of food, well…"

Tsukishima pinched the bridge of his nose. "Are you telling me we don't only have a bloody basilisk on the loose in a castle, we have an _insane_ basilisk?"

"It's not his fault," Noya interjected vehemently. "It's not like the basilisk asked to be put under a spell."

"Not the point," Tsukishima sighed.

"'Not right,'" Suga mumbled under his breath, a thought striking him. "Do you think there's any way to reason with it still? To get it to stop? Anything we could do?"

"I…." Noya stopped before shaking his head sadly. "No. Maybe if we found him after a few _centuries_ but a millennium. No, the only thing keeping him alive right now is probably the residual from the curse."

"How has a basilisk managed to hide in a castle all year," Bokuto interrupted. "I mean it's not like a giant snake is that inconspicuous."

"And how has no one died," Kuroo muttered.

Iwaizumi grimaced. "Oikawa was looking at his watch. Probably saw the reflection there."

"Yeah," Kuroo agreed. "But _all of them._ Six victims so far and every single one of them was petrified. The odds on that alone are insane."

"Hold on," Yamaguchi said, frowning and looking at Suga. "What...what were you talking to Daichi about before he disappeared?"

Suga paled. "I swear. I really don't know what-"

Yamaguchi shook his head. "No, not that. I'm not accusing you. But, I think...I think this is important. Suga, what were you talking about?"

The previous paleness of Suga's face took on a light blush.

"I, ah, he asked me out on a date," Suga admitted.

Tanaka groaned. "He finally did it and it's at the worst freaking time _ever_."

"What did you say," Yamaguchi pressed, ignoring Tanaka.

"I said...I said 'no'," Suga whispered. "Not because I don't care about him, I promise. I just...I thought he'd be safer that way...but, apparently, I was wrong."

"So, you wanted him to be safe but away from you," Yamaguchi interpreted. "But when we asked you, you said it was 'your fault', why?"

"Yamaguchi," Asahi said, hesitantly but Yamaguchi waved him off.

Suga bowed his head. "It has to be my fault. I'm the Heir. I….I don't know what's happening, but it has to be _me_." He took a breath. "I realized after Oikawa was petrified. All of the victims...I talked to them the day they were petrified. I don't know why it's them instead of others but….but it has to be me, it's too much of a coincidence."

Suga looked up. "I didn't want Daichi to be petrified, too. Not after Oikawa. I didn't want my friends to be hurt, so I...I figured it was safest for me to stay away."

"Ah, man, Suga…" Bokuto started but Yamaguchi cut over him.

"You talked to all of them before they were petrified," Yamaguchi said, eyes gleaming. "When? How? What did you say?"

Suga frowned. "Well, you saw with Hayashi before the game."

Yamaguchi nodded. "He thought you were the Heir, right? He threatened you."

"I-I suppose." Suga sighed. "It's not like he was wrong to worry."

"We ran into Nakashima that day in the hall, yeah," Bokuto reminded, getting Suga to look up.

"What did you talk about," Yamaguchi asked.

"Um, it's not like we really talked," Asahi put in. "He ran into us in the hall, going to the Divination tower."

Suga pursed his lips. "Right. He was trying to divine the Heir….well, before he was petrified, I mean."

"Bet he didn't see that one coming," Bokuto muttered.

"What about Mori Ryotai," Yamaguchi urged.

"I talked to him after Herbology," Suga answered.

Iwaizumi snorted. "More like he was getting in your face. Mori's an asshole."

Yamaguchi's eyes flickered to Iwaizumi. "What was he doing?"

"He was just talking about my family," Suga said quickly. "It was nothing I hadn't heard before."

"And Okamoto," Yamaguchi questioned. "You talked to him the day he was petrified?"

"Not that day, specifically," Suga conceded. "But, he's in my House, I'm sure I saw him. Not to mention….well, Okamoto's a bit of a bully so I'm sure he'd spoken to me recently."

Yamaguchi nodded, finally turning back to the rest of the group. "And you said Oikawa thought he was close to finding something."

"Yeah," Iwaizumi confirmed. "That's why he was staying in the library so much. What does this have to do with Suga, though?"

"I'm getting there," Yamaguchi promised. "Mananda. Suga, did you have any reason to be afraid of Professor Mananda?"

Tanaka snorted. "Who could possibly be afraid of Mananda?"

"No….," Suga said carefully, thinking. "No, wait. We _did_ think he might be a suspect for the petrifications."

"Mananda," Tsukishima said skeptically.

"Just in the beginning," Suga said. "It was logical. He was the only thing new this year."

"So," Yamaguchi's voice cut through the group, "Mori Ryotai threatened you the day he was petrified. You suspected Professor Mananda of the petrifications. Okamoto had bullied you before. Hayashi Taiyo accused you at the game. And you were scared both Nakashima and Oikawa would figure out you were the Heir."

Suga's eyes widened. "You think…"

"That all of them, either directly or indirectly, posed some kind of threat to you," Yamaguchi summarized. "Yes."

"But I didn't want them _petrified_ ," Suga said immediately. "I swear. I didn't want any of this to happen. I just wanted everyone to be safe and no one to die!"

"And that's why no one's dead," Yamaguchi said. He grabbed the paper from Noya. "The curse is a cross between Imperio and Legilimency. The entire purpose is so the caster can control the cursed. But, with this? You didn't even know the curse existed so you _couldn't_ order the basilisk directly. The basilisk isn't human, it's not sane, and it just woke up from a millennium old sleep to find the one person in command not giving any orders." Yamaguchi gestured to Suga. "So, it adapted to what it did have: perceived threats and a limited mental connection."

"Merlin," Iwaizumi cursed, "and what Suga's been thinking is he didn't want anyone to die."

Yamaguchi nodded. "So, the basilisk did the next best thing to eliminate threats. Petrifications."

"Then, what about Daichi," Ennoshita asked. "Why didn't he get petrified?"

"Oh," Yachi realized, turning to Yamaguchi. "It's because Daichi wasn't a threat, isn't it?" She looked at Suga. "You even said it. You didn't want him petrified. You were trying to keep him _safe._ "

"But," Tanaka interrupted, "if the basilisk is trying to keep Daichi safe and not petrified then...what happened to him?"

The question sat heavily in the hall until finally Kageyama let out a small, awkward cough.

"I mean...um, isn't it obvious," Kageyama said as all eyes turned to him. "You said wherever Daichi is isn't showing up on the map, right? If the basilisk was trying to keep him safe, there's only one place he could be."

"Where," Hinata asked at the same time Ennoshita blanched.

"He's in the Chamber of Secrets," Kageyama finished.

ooooooo

A/N: Shorter chapter this time. Sorry, guys, it's just how it worked out in the story outline. But, on the bright side, lots of answers in this chapter.

Next Chapter: A Final Note (which is, despite the name, not the final chapter)


	24. A Final Note

Bokuto cursed.

"Well, that's just great," Tsukishima deadpanned. "Really, just completely, utterly, fantastic. Not only, is there a giant crazy snake who can kill people with a single glance, now, Daichi's in the _Chamber of Secrets_ with it?! Just once-a single time even-can a legend in this entire bloody castle just stay a myth?"

"How long can he survive there," Yamaguchi asked, alarmed. "What if….what if he's already-"

"He's not. He can't be," Ennoshita interrupted. "Not this quickly. The basilisk wanted to keep him safe so it wouldn't be the one to kill him."

Asahi winced. "Unless Daichi looked at it by accident."

"We have to get him out," Noya said. "Like immediately."

"We don't even know where the Chamber of Secrets is," pointed out Iwaizumi. "How are we going to find Daichi?"

"We have to do _something_ ," Tanaka insisted.

"How did a basilisk even get him there," Kuroo questioned. "If he just disappeared from the map, it couldn't have been through the halls."

"Pipes," Yachi shouted suddenly.

Everyone stopped, turning abruptly to face the small Gryffindor girl.

"Um, what," Bokuto asked.

"The pipes," Yachi said, grabbing the map from Noya's hands. "Look, you said Daichi disappeared here, right?"

"...yes," Yamaguchi said, hesitantly. "One second he was there and then, he was just gone."

"That's it!" Yachi nodded eagerly, turning on her heel and down the corner before anyone else had finished processing.

"Yachi, wait up," Hinata called, followed by the rest of the group as Yachi strode purposefully down the hall.

"Where did you find the bag," Yachi asked.

"Over there," Asahi said, gesturing to the castle floor near a tapestry.

Yachi knelt on the ground, hand running behind the tapestry to pull it back and show-

"There," Yachi said, pointing to a small covered grate roughly the size of her fist, "that's how the basilisk has been getting around. It uses the pipes."

There was a long silence following that was broken finally by Bokuto raising his hand to ask, "Sorry, but did I miss something? I thought the basilisk was big as in like….you know, _giant._ "

"It is," Noya frowned. "At this age, it's gotta be at least five meters by now."

Right," Bokuto continued, "so how is something like _that_ fitting in there?"

Yachi stood. "Hogwarts pipes expand. They have to, it's the only way they can manage the water supply."

"What," Hinata asked, squinting down at the pipe.

"I read about it," Yachi explained. "Back when I was studying the school's maintenance records to try to find the Chamber. The pipes were installed in the 1700 as part of the work of a series of charmers. That's how they control the water flow. They expand and contract internally without changing their outward shape."

"So, what you're saying is," Kuroo said, "no matter what the size, the basilisk would be able to move through them without being detected."

"And it wouldn't show up on the map because there's none of the mapping charms in there," Tsukishima added before pausing. "... _And_ if Daichi was taken through there, it would look like he disappeared."

"But," Suga said, "if the basilisk is moving through the pipes to the Chamber then that would mean…."

"That the pipes have to be connected to the Chamber," Yachi finished.

"So, what, is the entrance to the Chamber down in the middle of the lake somewhere," Tanaka asked.

"No, not the lake," Yachi pointed down at the map. "It's here. Yachi finally looked up, only to see a wealth of uncomfortable expressions.

"Um, are you sure," Bokuto pressed.

"It has to be." Yachi nodded. "I'd bet you anything that even if it's not the entrance, it connects through here."

"But, like, you're positive," Tanaka checked.

Yachi frowned. "Yes. It's connected to almost every part of the school. It's one of the only parts that hasn't gone through major renovation in the school's history. I thought it's central to the plumbing, but now…" Yachi trailed off. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Kageyama coughed, shuffling uncomfortably. "That's a girls bathroom."

Yachi stopped.

"Really," Yachi huffed, arms crossed over her chest. " _That's_ what you're worried about? There's no one even in there."

"We're not _worried_ ," Noya protested. "We just, ah, wanted to make sure and all, you know before…"

Tsukishima sighed. "Before one of the prefects catches us all out after curfew sneaking into the girls bathroom."

There were various nods from around the group and Yachi gave them as flat a look as the normally shy girl was able to manage.

"I mean….it is for Daichi," Asahi mumbled and the group sobered.

"Yeah….for Daichi, then," Tanaka agreed, steeling himself. "Alright, lead the way."

Yachi refrained from commenting, heading down the halls while the rest of the group trailed behind her until they finally made it to the second floor's girls bathroom. Yachi didn't give them time to hesitate before pushing open the door and leading them in.

"Well, this is more eerie than I imagined," Iwaizumi commented mildly.

Around them, the bathroom was dark with a tall foreboding pillar of sinks in the middle of the room. The only light came from fogged stained glass green windows, that cast long shadows around the bathroom. The sound of water dripping echoed off the walls

Yachi nodded, quickly whispering a spell to light her wand. "It's not much better in the day. There's a reason most of the girls go down to the dungeon bathroom instead."

"So, where's the Chamber," Kageyama asked, casting glances around the room as if one of the stall doors would suddenly swing open to reveal an entrance.

"I….I don't know," Yachi admitted, "but it has to be here somewhere."

Ennoshita sighed, lighting his wand as well. "We better start looking then. See if we can find anything unusual."

The group complied, wandering around the bathroom and trying to find any kind of sign.

"Hey, Suga," Hinata called out from over by the windows. "You're the Heir. Do you think you can just say like 'Open' and something will happen?"

Suga paused, frowning slightly before hesitantly trying, "...open?"

Nothing happened.

Bokuto groaned. "Should've known it wouldn't be that easy. Why did Slytherin even build his Chamber under a bathroom anyway? I thought Slytherins were supposed to be fancier than that."

"He didn't," Yachi answered. "Not originally. This used to be a well room. It was bricked up in the 1400s."

Hinata blinked. "Yachi, how many of those Hogwarts building histories did you read?"

Yachi blushed. "A lot."

"Where was the old well," Iwaizumi asked.

"Probably in the middle," Kuroo said. "That's where they are in a lot of the old castles."

"The middle…." Iwaizumi muttered, walking to the pillar of sinks. He bent down to take a closer look. "Guys, I think I found something."

Everyone gathered around the sinks, looking down where Iwaizumi pointed at a small carving of a snake edged into the metal.

Yamaguchi leaned closer. "...well, that's certainly unusual."

"Poke it."

All eyes turned to Bokuto, who shrugged. "What? It's not like we've got any better idea!"

Tsukishima rolled his eyes before gesturing at Suga. "Go on. If it'll open for anyone, it'll open for you."

Suga nodded, reaching out to lightly run a finger over the carving. When nothing happened once again, he pursed his lips. "...I wonder."

 _Open,_ Suga hissed.

And then the sink _moved_.

"Merlin," Tanaka swore, backing up quickly as the walls around the sink dropped into the ground revealing a long, dark pipe.

"You're a _parseltongue,_ " Noya asked, snapping his head to Suga. "No, wait, what am I saying, of course, you're a parseltongue! Oh my gosh, that' so _cool!_ What do snakes talk like? Do they have their own language system? Can you talk to other reptiles? What about dragons or-"

"Noya, focus," Ennoshita interrupted and Noya backed down, blushing.

"Er, right," Noya said. "I suppose that can wait until later."

Asahi stepped forward, looking down at the seemingly endless black. "...so, we're really doing this? We're really going to fight a basilisk?"

"If it's the only way to save Daichi," Tanaka said firmly, drawing everyone's attention. "What you really think if people know a basilisk is under here, they're going to send people to save him? They'll probably think he's dead already."

"Not to mention they'll close the school and…," Kuroo eyes flickered to Suga. "Well, if they keep looking, someone's going to figure out who the Heir is eventually."

"You don't have to come," Ennoshita said, addressing the group. "It's dangerous….probably borderline suicidal, if we're being honest. Daichi's our friend but-"

"And Oikawa and Suga are ours," Iwaizumi said, crossing his arms. "I'm coming."

Bokuto and Kuroo nodded their agreements behind him.

Hinata turned to Yachi and Kageyama.

"I'm going to see this through," Hinata said, voice almost apologetic. "...I have to."

Yachi sighed but nodded, putting on a brave smile. "Then, we're coming with you."

"Someone's gotta keep you safe," Kageyama agreed.

The group gathered around the large pipe leading to utter darkness.

"Hey, Noya," Yamaguchi asked, hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"Do you have any ideas for fighting a basilisk?"

"Um...yeah, sure, a few maybe." He didn't sound that hopeful.

Iwaizumi sighed, lighting his wand and slowly lowering himself into pipe before letting go and sliding down into the darkness.

ooooooo

The group had been walking for over ten minutes and there was still not a hind of light to lead the way. The pipes had fallen away during their descent to the chamber and were instead replaced by dark, damp walls that reflected in the light from their wands.

"Bo," Kuroo whispered. "Why did you bring your _bag_?"

"I told you. Akaashi asked me to hold on to it," Bokuto whispered back.

"We're going to fight a _basilisk_."

"What was I supposed to do? Leave it on the bathroom floor?"

" _Yes._ "

Bokuto scrunched up his face, clutching the ugly bag a little bit tighter almost like a child would a safety blanket.

"Akaashi asked me to hold on to it," Bokuto repeated softly as if that answered everything.

And maybe it did.

Suga looked away from the two and over to Iwaizumi. The Gryffindor boy's expression was set firmly, hand tight around the wand as he led the group through the dark.

Suga drifted closer to him and the words he'd been holding back finally escaped, almost inaudible even in the quiet. "Do you think….do you think we can do it? Save him, I mean?"

Iwaizumi grimaced, not bothering to offer any false reassurances. "I think I'm going to go crazy if I can't do _something._ "

Suga's heart beat painfully in his chest. His ears echoed with the sound of the group slowly moving closer to almost certain death.

Suga tried to fight back the guilt that had become more and more familiar over the year. At least, now, he had a reason. Consciously or not, his fears had led the monster, had led to Oikawa frozen in the Hospital Wing, had led to Daichi trapped in the Chamber.

He was scared and somewhere in the back of his mind Suga felt the same dark, almost alien presence shift uneasily-just as it had been doing all year while Suga believed it his own worry.

Suga looked forward, into the darkness where he knew the basilisk had to somewhere be, and for the first time faced the fear directly.

 _You're not allowed to hurt them,_ Suga forced his thoughts at it. _You're not allowed to hurt anyone. Never again._

And in his mind, Suga felt something _answer._ He felt something scream and screech and tear at whatever held it back with a force that had Suga staggering, grabbing onto Iwaizumi for support.

"You okay," Iwaizumi whispered.

"I-I'm fine," Suga said, voice wavering dangerously as his head pounded.

Further down the line, Yachi gasped.

"What is it," Hinata asked, stopping beside her.

"Look at the cracks," Yachi said, holding up her wand to show deep fissures running down the walls as giant boulders lay on the ground.

"That looks new," Yamaguchi said with a frown. "Could the basilisk have done this?"

The group looked at Noya, who shrugged.

Suddenly, Kuroo let out a curse, kicking at one of the boulders with a glare.

"Of bloody course," Kuroo gritted out. "Of course, it was _him_."

"Who," Bokuto asked, speaking for the group.

Kuroo huffed, gesturing around at the walls as if that would help explain. "We've started in the middle of the castle and have been heading roughly west, right?"

"Er, sure, if you say so," Bokuto answered.

"We're somewhere by the potions labs, then," Kuroo said. "In other words, right where Sora was busy _blowing stuff up_ all last year while he was looking for the Founder's Treasure."

"These cracks go down the whole hall," Tsukishima observed, holding his wand up. "You think that idiot accidentally broke the curse around the Chamber and didn't even notice."

"Oh, I'd be willing to bet on it," Kuroo said, voice acidic before gesturing for Iwaizumi to keep walking and showing his wand on the continuation of cracks as he did. "I'm willing to bet Sora didn't even spare a thought to what explosive charms would do to the castle's foundation."

Kuroo continued walking, muttering darkly under his breath.

Asahi cleared his throat. "So, ah, Noya, what were those ideas you had about fighting a basilisk?"

"Um," Noya started, uneasily, "the main thing with a basilisk is you gotta avoid the eyes."

"Gee, no kidding," Iwaizumi said.

"But, well," Noya winced, "you gotta avoid the teeth, too. Because they're venomous. Like _really, really_ kill-you-instantly-and-with-no-cure kind of venomous."

"Anything _positive_ ," Ennoshita stressed.

"Yeah," Noya said, brightening minutely, "basilisks are supposed to be terrified of roosters."

There was a pause.

"What," Tsukishima looked at him, incredulously. " _Roosters?"_ "

Noya nodded. "Yeah, the cry of a rooster can kill them when they're young and even adult ones hate them."

"What about just the sound," Tanaka asked. "My sister taught me a charm to imitate animal noises. _Canetis Gallus_ should work for roosters."

Noya shrugged again. "The basilisk definitely won't like it. Probably try to get away from it."

" _Probably_ ," Yamaguchi asked, voice going high in disbelief.

"Uh, yeah, probably," Noya said, looking somewhat sheepish. "What? Basilisks are basically extinct. It's not like anyone's really had a chance to study them."

Kuroo frowned.

"I think I have a plan," he said, cutting through the silence. "We split up. Half of us use the charm to drive the basilisk away while the other half tries to get Daichi."

"What about the eyes," Yachi questioned..

"Or the fangs," Asahi added.

Suga took a breath. "I think I might be able to help with that."

All eyes went to him.

"The basilisk is supposed to listen to me," Suga said. "I'm not sure but maybe if I just told it to close its eyes or go away or….well, maybe it will listen."

"Suga," Kuroo said, carefully. "The basilisk is crazy. Merlin, _Salazar_ was crazy for ever thinking he could control it. This isn't like accidentally giving it some mild suggestions, the amount of mental strain it would take to fully and directly control something like a basilisk is almost impossible."

"But there's still a chance," Suga set his jaw. "Besides, if there's a way I can use this connection for something actually good for once, then I'm going to do it. It's not like we have much of a choice anyway."

"Hey, guys," Iwaizumi called from a bit ahead, "we better decide on a plan soon because I think I just found the Chamber."

The light from Iwaizumi's wand, soon joined by the others, shown on a large ornate wall with two giant intertwining serpents. The stone serpent's emerald eyes glittering almost mockingly as the light hit them.

Hinata laughed nervously. "We found the Chamber of Secrets...um, yay?"

Yachi shivered. "I never thought I'd say this but I think I preferred the Founder's Tasks from last year."

Kageyama nodded in agreement.

Iwaizumi looked back at the group. "So, who's good at charms?"

Noya, Kuroo, Ennoshita, Yachi, and Yamaguchi raised their hands, the later two clearly with some hesitation.

"And Tanaka knows the charm," Iwaizumi concluded. "Then if Suga can't get the basilisk away, you six can try to drive it away with the charm."

"And us," Kageyama asked.

Iwaizumi regarded the remaining members intently. "Like Kuroo said, it's our job to find Daichi and get him out."

Hinata and Kageyama exchanged a look before nodding, Asahi seeming unsure on whether he should be sending more worried looks to them or the other group before apparently deciding on giving it to everyone in general. Tsukishima had settled into a neutral expression while Bokuto shrugged, giving a wide grin but his grip tightened on the bag.

No one objected, though. No one offered another plan or tried to back down. They just stood there, tense and waiting, until Iwaizumi turned to Suga.

"Ready?"

Suga nodded. "Everyone...everyone close their eyes. I'll tell you when it's safe."

He waited until the group complied until finally turning back to the wall.

Suga stood before it and, before he could give himself time to think a way out of this, he reached out to that same dark foreign coldness in his mind and tried to grasp it.

 _Open,_ Suga hissed.

The wall cracked apart to form two sets of doors as the serpents slithering away almost as if they were alive.

The doors open and Suga thought he saw a glimpse of movement.

He closed his eyes.

Cold air hit his face and now, Suga could hear it. Something large shifting against stone and getting closer.

Suga stepped forward.

 _Stop!_

The dark force pushed back against his mind immediately, writhing and fighting as it did so, and Suga had to take a moment to catch his breath. When he did, the movement had stopped. Suga could _feel_ that something was there in front of him maybe three meters away, but he couldn't hear anything moving.

 _Close your eyes_ , Suga thought at the monster and even in his mind, the order sounded hesitant. The basilisk didn't move but Suga felt its presence whipping around his mind, trying to attack and barely held back.

 _CLOSE YOUR EYES_ , Suga ordered again, pushing hard and feeling the basilisk's presence flinch away.

A second passed. Then another.

Slowly, Suga opened his own eyes again.

In front of him and almost sixteen meters long, was the basilisk-Slytherin's Monster-head reared back as if it wanted to strike down at any second. Behind the creature, barely visible around the sheer size of the basilisk, was a large stone chamber with pools of water on either side guarded by large stone statues of snakes with wide open mouths. Absently, Suga noted the scales of the monster seemed worn and ragged from age.

The eyes were closed. A long tongue flicked out of the basilisk's mouth and the head tilted back and forth almost in pain from fighting Suga's order, but the eyes stayed closed.

"I think...," Suga began, careful to address only the group behind him while keeping a hold on the basilisk mentally, "I think it's okay."

There was a pause and then-

" _Merlin,_ " Noya said in awe.

Suga didn't dare to look back.

"Can you get it to leave," Ennoshita asked with only the slightest quiver in his voice.

"I can-"

Noya moved forward and the basilisk moved, lashing it's tail out as its head dove towards the sound of the group like lightning.

 _STOP,_ Suga yelled and the monster froze barely an arms lengths away from them, eyes still shut. A dark wave of mental backlash hit Suga a moment later and he gritted his teeth together, trying to stay on his feet.

"I...it doesn't want us here," Suga panted. "... I can't get it to leave."

"It's his home," Noya concluded, looking at the giant snake almost sadly. "And we're the intruders."

"So, we stick with the plan," Kuroo said. "Split up, one group tries to drive it away while the other gets Daichi. Suga, can you just get it to keep its eyes closed?"

Suga's head throbbed painfully. "I think so...but, I don't know how long."

"Then, we better move quick," Iwaizumi concluded, gathering the other five from his group together. "We'll try to get around it and into the Chamber."

"We'll cover you," Kuroo said, readying his wand as the others did the same.

Carefully, Iwaizumi began to lead Bokuto, Kageyama, Hinata, Asahi, and Tsukishima into the large stone chamber, making a path between the basilisk and the pools of water than lined the sides of the room.

Suga could feel it almost immediately, the basilisk's urge to strike out at the intruders.

 _No,_ Suga ordered as firmly as he could while keeping up a near constant internal mantra of _eyes-closed-eyes-closed._

Behind him, Kuroo laid a hand on his shoulder-offering some comfort while his other hand stayed tense around his wand. The rest of the group stood further back and Suga didn't have to look at them to feel the tension.

Miraculously, though, it almost seemed to be working. The basilisk hissed loudly-more a wordless threat than anything Suga could understand with parseltongue-while its head moved dangerously between the two groups; however, it hadn't made a move yet to open its eyes nor attack the groups.

Right when the group had almost fully made it around the basilisk, Asahi let out a loud gasp, the sound echoing around the chamber.

"It's Daichi," Tsukishima called back, eyes cautiously flickering between the basilisk and the rest of them. "We can see him."

The words rang through the air and Suga, just for a moment, felt something inside of him relax.

And then, everything fell apart.

Suga felt the dark presence in his mind push back like fire engulfing his senses.

He screamed, falling to his knees and hearing an answering screech form the basilisk as it blindly whipped its tail at the intruders.

Struggling to keep his eyes open, Suga saw the tail hit into one of the statues, the pieces flying and knocking Bokuto and Iwaizumi hard into the water while Hinata's hastily summoned shield was barely in time to save the rest.

"Now," Kuroo shouted, casting a charm and suddenly the loud thrill of a rooster was ringing painfully against his ears as the presence in his mind _screamed._

The basilisk reeled back, Tsukishima ducking a hit from the tail by inches as the monster tried to get away from the sound.

Tanaka fired off another and soon the room was filled with the sounds of animal screams, both from the charms and the basilisk.

 _Eyes-shut-eyes-shut-eyes-shut,_ Suga thought frantically, scrambling mentally as his body shook under the pressure.

Keeping its eyes closed, the basilisk struck forward at the source of the noise. It slammed instead into the rock wall above them with a loud crash, sending debris falling down quickly.

"Move," Ennoshita shouted and Suga felt someone pull him away just as a giant rock struck where he had been half a second before.

Suga couldn't afford to think about that right now, his mind keeping a constant mantra while his mouth hissed, _Stop!_

The former worked significantly better than the later. The basilisk blindly struck out as its perceived prey while they scrambled away, throwing charms as they did.

Breathing heavily, Suga watched the monster scream and the sound echoed though his mind. A cold, slow realization was surfacing that Suga _couldn't_ keep this up much longer.

He shoved the thought away, focusing only on the basilisk.

 _Eyes-closed-eyes-closed._

 _..._ As long as Suga could manage.

ooooooo

Iwaizumi broke through the surface of the water with a gasp, hauling Bokuto up as he did. The other groaned in his arms as he shoved him back up onto the stone but was at least conscious. Iwaizumi pulled himself up a second after, looking around for his wand and not finding it.

"You alright," Iwaizumi asked, surveying the fight.

It didn't look good. Actually, it look a second away from devastating. The group near the entrance was throwing out as many charms as they could to drive the basilisk away, some still using the charm while others were resorting to any reasonable spell they could think of. The basilisk struck down at them, missing by a hairbreadth.

Suga was on his knees in the middle of the battle, eyes fixed on the basilisk.

On the other side of the chamber, Asahi, Kageyama, Tsukishima, and Hinata has all been separated, each diving around the basilisk's tail as they tried to make it to where Daichi laid seemingly unconscious at the head of the chamber.

"I think so," Bokuto answered, bringing back Iwaizumi's attention. Bokuto brought a hand up to gently feel around the back of his head before wincing.

"We need to move," Iwaizumi said, getting an arm under Bokuto to try to pull him up. The same ugly bag laid forgotten on the stone and Iwaizumi picked it up without thinking.

Bokuto staggered as he got to his feet and Iwaizumi tightened his grip until Bokuto could stand on his own, though still not looking the most balanced.

The basilisk screamed and Iwaizumi's head shot to the entrance. One of the stinging spells hit against the basilisk's neck, where the scales had gotten old and molted. The basilisk swung its head, hitting against another statue and sending it flying at the group. The group tried to press their advantage, firing off spell after spell.

The basilisk struck down at them, almost hitting Yachi before Noya pulled her out of the way.

"DON'T ATTACK THEM," Suga yelled before letting out a loud hiss that Iwaizumi assumed was a repetition.

The basilisk paused, tilting its head as if dazed, before slowly turning its head in the direction of Suga.

Even from this far away, Iwaizumi could see the full body wince that went through Suga as the basilisk faced him.

Iwaizumi's heart sped up.

The basilisk pulled back again, motions uncertain before it settled into…

Iwaizumi started running.

...the basilisk readied itself to strike. Eyes closed but completely directed at Suga.

Suga panted, letting out a weak hiss.

The basilisk stopped and, for the span for a second, all attention was drawn to the monster and its master.

And then Suga let out a gasp and the basilisk screeched.

The moment broke and the basilisk was pulling back for one last strike, its master as the target.

And Iwaizumi was still running-wandless, without a plan, and with only Bokuto's stupid bag gripped tightly in his hand.

Iwaizumi jumped anyway and-with a level of dexterity he didn't know he was capable of-landed on the basilisk's back, finding a hold in the ancient flaking scales.

The basilisk didn't even notice, too intent on the only thing in the chamber as if the rest had vanished. Suga stared back, unconsciously mouthing a command under his breath.

The basilisk struck down.

Iwaizumi moved, suddenly feeling something hard and unmistakably metal from the folds of the soft cloth bag.

He grabbed it without thinking.

And a bright silver sword was in his hands. Iwaizumi didn't hesitate long enough to question it, bringing it back and shoving it down with every ounce of strength he had right into the top of the basilisk's head.

The basilisk's screech died out and the giant head swung forward hitting the stone not an arm length away from Suga.

Iwaizumi rolled off the other side, landing hard on the stone floor and breathing heavily.

A long span of seconds passed in absolute silence and then….

"Is...is it dead," Yachi asked.

"It's dead," Suga said, voice rough but without even a hint of uncertainty.

At the confirmation, the others warily began making their way around the monster, still staring at it as if could come back to life.

"Where did the _sword_ come from," Tanaka asked, pointing up at the bright silver pommel encrusted with a brilliant red ruby.

"Merlin," Yamaguchi swore, eyes going wide, "I think that's the Sword of Gryffindor!"

The entire group jerked to attention looking between the sword and Iwaizumi.

Iwaizumi shrugged, pushing himself unsteadily to his feet and going to help up Suga.

"Don't look at me," he said. "I just grabbed it out of Bokuto's bag."

Bokuto, who had just made it to the group, held up his hands. "I don't know either. The bag's just Akaashi's charm project."

Noya let out a low whistle. "That's a heck of a charm's project."

"I don't think it's the bag. The sword's only supposed to appear for a true Gryffindor with a noble cause," Yamaguchi said. "It's supposed to be a legend. My grandfather used to tell me the story."

Ennoshita hummed, picking up the bag and handing it back to Bokuto. "I think we can safely assume that some legends might be more true than they appear."

"Guys!" Asahi's shout echoed across the room. "It's Daichi!"

All discussion of swords and legends ceased immediately as everyone hurried to the front of the chamber, crowding around as Asahi carefully assessed Daichi's body.

Tsukishima swallowed. "Is he-"

"He's alive," Asahi interrupted quickly and a wave of tension immediately left the group. "He's unconscious though. I think he has a concussion. Possibly a large one"

Asahi's hand carefully felt around the back of Daichi's skull, wincing as he withdrew with the faintest amount of blood dying his fingertips.

"He's bleeding," Hinata shouted. "That's bad right?"

"Not necessarily," Asahi answered, surprisingly calm. "One second."

Asahi pointed his wand directly at Daichi's forehead and whispered, " _Rennervate._ "

The group held their breath.

Daichi gasped, eyes flying open even as he still remained laying in Asahi's arms.

His gaze flew across their faces, remarkably unfocused before finally landing on the last member, standing a bit away with his arms held carefully over his chest.

"Ssugga," Daichi slurred, confused, before his eyes gently fell shut again.

Tsukishima snorted. "Figures."

But the younger Slytherin was wearing a slight smile that only became more pronounced as Asahi let out a sigh of relief.

"He's going to be okay," Asahi said. "We should still get him to the Hospital Wing, though. Just so, Professor Nekomata can run some full diagnostics and bandage his head."

"What are we going to tell them," Noya asked. "He got attacked by a basilisk?"

Ennoshita smiled, leaning down on Daichi's other side. "Probably better if we just tell them Daichi fell out of his bed instead."

Kageyama tilted his head, curiously. "So, we're planning on keeping all of this a secret, then?"

"Don't see any other way we can tell people without implicating Suga," Iwaizumi said. "Not to mention, admitting we snuck down here to fight a basilisk without telling anyone. Somehow, I think the professors might have a problem with that."

Yamaguchi nodded but let out a small sigh. "It's kind of sad though, isn't it? That there's no way to let everyone else know they don't have to worry about the petrifications anymore."

And then, from the back of the room, came a sudden laugh.

Everyone turned to see Kuroo smirk, throwing an arm each around a still dazed Suga and confused Bokuto.

"Actually," Kuroo said, with a devious look much more fitting for a Slytherin than a Ravenclaw, "I think I might have an idea about that."

ooooooo

The next morning, the students of Hogwarts woke up to yet another surprise on top of an already too surprising year.

But, for once, the surprise actually appeared to be a good one.

Written in red paint, right outside the Great Hall where no student could even hope to miss it, was a new message.

 _The Chamber of Secrets has been closed. The Monster of Slytherin defeated. Muggleborns Welcome._

 _-The Heir of Slytherin_

 _ooooooo_

A/N: Sorry, this one is a bit late, guys. A combination of work, finals, and power issues got it a bit off schedule. The next two should still be on time.

Next chapter: Understanding


	25. Understanding

There was light.

A bright light. Actually, a borderline painful bright light.

He blinked.

Near him, there was a sudden intake of breath and he blinked again, uncomfortably dry eyes trying to focus.

A blurry face gradually sharpened in front of him.

Oikawa smiled. "Hey, Iwa-chan."

And why did his voice felt so scratchy and unused?

He guessed it didn't matter because Iwaizumi's breath caught and he was smiling that same crooked smile that Oikawa had come to know before he had even known his own name.

"Hey," Iwaizumi said softly before leaning back to reveal Kuroo and Bokuto eagerly waiting behind him.

And...wait, a second? Where was he?

Last he remembered, he'd been in the library looking at….wait, no that wasn't right either….the hall, he'd been in the hall and he was running because he'd found…

"The basilisk!" Oikawa shot up from the bed, only to be held back by Iwaizumi. "It's a basilisk! Slytherin put a curse on it to control it but now it's awake and-"

Kuroo's hand flew out to cover his mouth, casting a Silencing Charm on the bed curtains before turning back to Oikawa.

"Yeah, we...uh, figured that one out actually," Kuroo said, carefully uncovering Oikawa's mouth before reaching in his own robes to draw out a piece of folded parchment. He unfolded it to reveal a significantly more crumpled version of the page Oikawa swore he had just copied.

"Thanks for the hint," Kuroo said, handing the parchment over to Oikawa. "Couldn't have done it without this."

Oikawa took the parchment, confused. He blinked again and, for the first time, really processed his surrounding area. The visiting chair. The curtains. The bed. The-

"Oh," Oikawa said flatly. "I see. I got petrified, didn't I?"

"Only for a month or so," Bokuto confirmed with no small amount of forced cheer. "We really thought it was going to be a lot longer but apparently, some anonymous donor gave like a _ton_ of imported mandrake potion to the school. It must have cost a fortune."

Oikawa stared, trying to process that. "A _month_? I've been petrified for a month?"

Merlin, making up the school work alone was going to be a pain. He wondered if he'd still be eligible for the class ranks.

"We're just glad you're okay." Iwaizumi's voice derailed his thoughts thought so abruptly that Oikawa wouldn't have been surprised if there was an audible _screech_ sound.

Glad he's okay...Right, Oikawa wasn't dead or...well and he supposed a month wasn't even that long all things considered. Especially, since it looked like everyone was okay and…

"Wait, where's Suga," Oikawa asked, looking up as if maybe he'd missed the bright silver hair in the crowd.

Bokuto shifted uncomfortably. "Um, he said he'd be down in a bit. He _promised_ , actually. He just thought it would be better if...well, if we explained some things first."

"Okay," Oikawa said slowly as if that alone wasn't incredibly foreboding.

He turned to address the group as a whole.

"So," Oikawa smirked, "how'd you guys fare without me for an entire month?"

Kuroo laughed, falling back into the visitor's chair with a huff. "It's kind of a long story."

Oikawa raised an eyebrow, leaning back in the bed with an exaggerated motion.

"It's not like I'm going anywhere."

ooooooo

"Did you hear," a fifth year Hufflepuff whispered to her friend. "The petrified students. They're awake!"

The friend's eyes went wide. "I thought they didn't have enough Mandrake potion?"

"An anonymous donor," the girl answered, smiling as they made their way to the Great Hall with a much lighter air then Suga had seen all year.

Suga looked down at the note in his hand, delivered this morning by a common brown delivery owl. In fact, the same kind of owl that had dropped off an entire cart of potions to the Hospital Wing that morning.

 _My Dear Son,_

 _Your father and I hope this will make things even a little bit better. We love you._

 _Your Mother,_

 _Ahmya Noroi Sugawara_

Suga stared at the words, feeling that same disconcerting confusion he always felt when his family did something that truly surprised him.

But, that was a question for later.

The question for now found Suga in front of the Hospital Wing with the beat of his heart echoing loudly in his ears.

Oikawa was awake.

He knew Oikawa was awake. Bokuto had even gone so far as to hunt him down and tell him that Oikawa was awake and asking for Suga. And, of course, Bokuto at ended that conversation with a look somewhere between cautious and pressing while reminding Suga that he'd _promised_ he would go see Oikawa today.

So, here he was.

It wasn't exactly that Suga didn't want to see Oikawa. In many ways, Suga wanted to see Oikawa very, very much. Oikawa was his friend, his roommate. Oikawa was probably the person Suga was closest to in the entire school. More than that, Suga _missed_ Oikawa, could feel that hole by his side ever since the other had been petrified.

No, Suga was scared to see Oikawa because he didn't want to lose him.

After all, what could Oikawa possibly think about Suga now? Last year, he'd been cautious enough about trusting Suga and now, intentional or not, Suga had attacked some miracle, the rest seemed to have forgiven him for keeping a secret. But, with Oikawa, Suga had done more than just keep secrets. Oikawa had been petrified by a basilisk for over a month. Suga had done that. Suga's fear had caused that.

How could Suga ever expect that not to change their friendship? How could he expect Oikawa to trust him again?

He couldn't; but, it was better to hear it now than wait and wonder. Suga had waited enough in fear this year. This time he was facing it.

Suga took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

The first thing that Suga noticed upon stepping in the Hospital Wing was the light. The curtains were pulled back. The sound of laughter came from beds as students talked to their revived friends.

In one bed, the curtains were pulled back as the Headmaster glared impressively at Okamoto.

"I'm telling you," Okamoto huffed, "Nakashima had just come up and was screaming at me. Then, I just looked down in the paint and then there was a flash of yellow! That's all I saw!"

The Headmaster hummed. "And what _exactly_ were you doing with red paint and an unfinished message painted on the wall?"

Okamoto stuttered. "Um...well…"

And if it was another time, Suga might have smiled but then he made it to the last bed in the row.

Oikawa looked up at him. "You finally made it. Get the curtain, would you?"

Silently, Suga obeyed, placing a Silencing Charm around it as he did.

The sounds of the Hospital Wing became muted, leaving Suga and Oikawa in their own private pocket of space.

Suga didn't know what to say.

Luckily, Oikawa didn't seem to have that problem.

"So," Oikawa said, leaning forward, "the others told me you guys killed a basilisk. I thought it was implied that friends don't go off killing legendary creatures when another can't join in the fun."

"Wasn't much fun," Suga said quietly.

Oikawa tilted his head, wincing slightly. "Yeah, probably not. Probably would've preferred it to being petrified though."

And there it was.

"I'm sorry," Suga breathed out, barely audible and miserable.

"What?"

"It was my fault," Suga said louder. "Everything was all my fault. I'm the Heir. I didn't want you to know. I just...you were so _close_ to finding out and I didn't want you to. I didn't want you to stop being my friend. I never meant for the basilisk to attack you or anybody, I swear."

He trailed off and when Suga finally lifted his gaze to Oikawa, the other was looking at him in confusion.

"Hold on, so let me get this straight" Oikawa said. "The basilisk attacked me because you were scared?"

Suga nodded.

"And you were scared because you thought I was close to figuring out you were the Heir?"

Another nod.

"And you thought if I knew you were the Heir, I wouldn't be your friend?"

Suga struggled not to look down. "Yes."

And then Oikawa abruptly started laughing.

Suga stared at him.

"Sorry," Oikawa said, trying to stop but letting out one more snicker. "It's...pft...Koushi Sugawara, you are the only person I know who would end up sicking a monster snake on me to protect our friendship."

Suga blinked, tried to process that and all he came up with was, "...What?"

Oikawa rolled his eyes. "Suga, I _told_ you last year. I trust you. I already know your family is...um, interesting. I _know_ you're not like them. Why would I decide to hold that against you now?"

"Wait," Suga said, feeling something almost painfully light in his chest. "So...you forgive me?"

Oikawa sighed, quirking up a lip in something close to a smile.

"Suga, it's not that I forgive you. It's that there's nothing to forgive."

And that was it.

Suga breathed and for the first time that year, the air came easily.

Then, the next thing either of them knew, Suga was launching across the space, wrapping his arms tightly around Oikawa.

"Ow! Hey, recently de-petrified person over here! My muscles are still stiff."

"Sorry," Suga mumbled, loosening his hold and starting to pull away.

Before he could, Oikawa's arms came around him and pulled him back in.

"It's fine. I'll live, I suppose."

Suga nodded, burying his face in Oikawa's shoulder and finding it comfortably warm instead of the hard not quite skin it had been for weeks.

"You okay," Oikawa asked after a moment passed.

Suga laughed, the sound muffled by the cloth. "You're the one who got petrified. Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"Fair enough," Oikawa agreed easily.

There was a pause and then…

"Are you-are you crying," Oikawa asked, voice filled with mock indignation. "On my shoulder?"

"Oikawa."

"Yeah?"

"Shut Up"

"No, I get it. I should wear a sign Tooru Oikawa: Living Tissue."

Suga let out another sniffle-laugh, tightening his hold.

"Really," Oikawa continued. "I'll make business cards. Do you think teal or lavender as a background?"

Suga closed his eyes. "Teal, definitely."

"Yeah, you're right it brings out my eyes."

"Oikawa?"

"Hmm..."

"I'm _really_ glad you're okay."

"...Thanks."

ooooooo

"No, I'm serious, Akaashi," Bokuto said emphatically. "This bag's _amazing!_ You've gotta turn it in for the assignment, instant O. I promise."

Akaashi bit back a smile. "It's fine, Bokuto. You don't have to be nice. I know the bag's hideous."

In his hands, Akaashi felt the "bag" shift almost imperceptibly and he patted it in apology.

Unaware of all of this, Bokuto spluttered. "But Akaashi, you _have_ to. The bag's awesome. Like amazingly, mind-bendingly, should be impossible kind of awesome!"

"Mhm," Akaashi said, tilting his head in apparent curiosity. "Why do you say that? Anything amazing happen with it?"

Akaashi then had the not so rare treat of Bokuto turning bright red, shiftily look in either direction, coughing loudly twice, attempt to lean casually against a wall, realize there was no wall nearby, awkwardly almost fall, and finally stutter out. "W-what. Pft, _no_ , nothing amazing at all happened with that bag. Just, er, normal, totally usual safe stuff. You know?"

Akaashi really did smile this time. "Well, that's a relief. I'd hate for _unsafe_ stuff to happen with it."

"Ah, yep," Bokuto answered, adjusting his collar nervously before something caught his eyes. "Oh, well, that's Kuroo. I gotta go and do, er, more totally safe stuff."

"I'm glad, Bokuto," Akaashi said, watching fondly as Bokuto ran off to catch his spiky haired conversational salvation.

Akaashi shook his head, turning and heading down the hall.

Only to have another person jump out from around the corner.

He barely kept himself from jumping. Really, as a psychic, Akaashi hated being surprised.

He supposed he could make an exception given who it was though. Just this time, of course.

"Hinata," Akaashi greeted, giving the younger boy a small smile. "I saw that you had a busy night. Everything turn out okay?"

Hinata grinned. "Probably as okay as you expected."

Akaashi hummed innocently. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean."

"Bokuto told me you gave him the bag," Hinata continued. "You know the bag that a huge, massive, basilisk slaying sword came out of?"

Akaashi held up the bag in question. "Want to know another secret?"

"Of course," Hinata said eagerly.

Akaashi tapped his wand on the bag, muttering a reversal spell under his breath.

The bag folded in on itself before, with quite conscious motions, shaking itself out to reveal a hat.

Hinata's eyes widened. "Is that-is that the Sorting Hat?!"

"The Sorting Hat who's been through a rough couple of months, lad," the hat harrumphed before turning to Akaashi. "You're lucky this hat was in need of some adventure, Young Diviner."

"I thank you for your aid," Akaashi said smoothly before turning to Hinata. "I might have borrowed him for the Headmaster's office. Just for a bit. With the hat's full permission and discretion, of course."

"Why," Hinata asked amazed.

"Students these days," the hat muttered. "Don't know your history, do you? I was made by Godric Gryffindor himself. I'm the only one trusted to pass his sword to a rightful wielder."

Akaashi ran a soothing finger along the hat's brim.

"I thought you'd need some help fighting the basilisk," Akaashi told Hinata. "The Sword of Gryffindor is made from nearly unbreakable goblin steel."

Hinata leaned back from looking at the hat, still a bit in awe.

He smiled at Akaashi. "We really couldn't have done it without you, could we?"

Akaashi shrugged. "There was a number of futures I'd have rather have avoided."

"Thanks for helping," Hinata said. "I _knew_ you would."

Akaashi fixed the smile on his face and hoped it didn't dim. "Only when I can."

Hinata shrugged, not seeming bothered by the addendum at all. "I mean that's all any of us can do. Right, Akaashi?"

"I suppose," Akaashi allowed.

Hinata just smiled, hoisting his bag up his shoulder. "Hey, Akaashi, have you seen-or like, you know _seen_ -Suga lately? I've been trying to find him all morning."

Akaashi stopped, futures flashing in the back of his mind too fast for him to understand.

"I believe Bokuto said he was visiting Oikawa," Akaashi said finally.

If Hinata had noticed the pause, he didn't show it. Instead, he merely nodded, offering up a cheerful wave as he continued down the hall. "Alright, thanks! Bye, Akaashi!"

Akaashi stood in the hall, watching Hinata walk away as puzzle pieces of various futures tried and fail to sort themselves into something comprehensible.

Akaashi frowned, wondering what had just changed.

ooooooo

"And you'll see if there's any extra credit assignments, too. Right?"

"Right," Suga replied dutifully but with more than a hint of amusement.

"Hey!" Oikawa gave an exaggerated pout. "Suga, this is important! What if they don't let me make up the work and then I have to repeat the year and _then_ you're stuck with just Makki and Matsu as roommates! Really, Suga, if you think about it, I'm doing this for you!"

"As honorable as that is," Suga laughed, "I seriously and highly doubt they'll make you repeat a year for missing a month-"

"But they could!"

"Especially since you've read ahead into next year's lessons already," Suga finished.

Oikawa seemed to consider this. "...Fine, but it never hurts to check."

Suga rolled his eyes and stood up.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

"Apparently, I've got professors to cajole." Suga grinned. "Don't worry, Iwaizumi should be back soon."

Oikawa sighed dramatically. "Abandoned in my hour of need."

Pulling the curtain back, Suga turned and was halfway to a retort when-

"Suga?"

Suga froze.

Daichi stared back at him from one bed over.

"What are you doing here," Daichi asked, scanning over Suga quickly for any signs of injuries. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. I...I'm just visiting Oikawa," Suga said.

Behind him, Oikawa hummed. "Finished visiting me, more like. It's okay, Suga, I'll be fine here until Iwaizumi gets back. Besides," Oikawa raised an eyebrow, looking from Daichi to Suga, "I believe there's part of the story I missed."

Suga didn't bother responding, eyes still fixed on Daichi.

Daichi cleared his throat. "Suga...do you mind if we go somewhere to talk?"

"Okay," Suga said, heart beating quickly.

Daichi nodded and began leading Suga out of the Hospital Wing and to a tiny alcove a bit down the hall.

When they finally got there, Daichi just stopped and they were both stuck a charged sort of silence.

Suga broke it first. "Are you feeling better?"

"What? Oh," Daichi ran a hand over the back of his head, "yeah, Professor Nekomata just gave me a final checkup. Concussion all healed."

"I'm glad," Suga said and even he could feel how the phrase hung piteously incomplete.

Daichi took a breath. "Listen, Suga, about that night-"

"I'm sorry," Suga interrupted. "I was trying to keep you from being petrified and I got you kidnapped. I just wanted you to be safe, I swear. I didn't know about the basilisk."

Daichi breathed in sharply. "So...when you told be you couldn't return my feelings, that was...that was just you trying to keep me safe?"

"Yes," Suga insisted. "I didn't know what was happening. I thought just being around me was putting you in danger. I swear I didn't know what would happen-"

"I believe you," Daichi said, eyes wide. "But...does that. Suga, _do_ you care about me?"

"Of course," Suga said, words tumbling out as his heart beat faster and faster. "That's why the basilisk attacked you because it knew I wanted you safe and-"

"But like you care about me more than friends," Daichi cut him off. "You _like_ me?"

"Yes," Suga said quietly. "Daichi, I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I never meant-"

Daichi kissed him.

Daichi Sawamura kissed Koushi Sugawara for the first time, hands framing his face carefully and neither able to catch their breath.

A second, maybe two, and then Daichi was pulling back before Suga even had a chance to process.

Daichi blushed. "Um, sorry, I...I probably should've asked first."

Suga just stared at him.

"You...you still like me," Suga asked. "Even after I nearly got you killed?"

Daichi laughed self-consciously. "Well, I have to admit the basilisk was a bit of a surprise. Not to mention the Heir stuff but...well, Noya and Tanaka nearly get me killed at least once a year so…" Daichi took a breath and looked back at Suga with that same heartbreaking smile. "What I'm trying to say Suga is...I meant what I said back then. I think you're amazing, terrifying basilisk or not. And I really, _really_ like you."

Suga's breath caught and he remained perfectly still as if a single movement could break the moment.

"I'm, ah, I'm going to try this again, okay?" Daichi's smile turned nervous. "Suga...Koushi, will you go out with me?"

"Yes," Suga said, the words leaving before he could even think about them. "Yes, Daichi. I'd love to. _Yes._ "

"Yeah," Daichi said and slowly the smile started to grow bigger and bigger and. "Yes, you mean it? Really?"

"Yes," Suga repeated, laughing and reaching for Daichi at the same time.

Daichi caught his hand, pulling him closer. "I really want to kiss you now...is that...okay?"

Suga kissed him before he could even finish.

It didn't quite work. Daichi was still talking and Suga was smiling too wide to really make it.

It was perfect.

Suga pulled back, leaning against Daichi. "Yes."

ooooooo

"Suga?" Hinata called, turning toward the last bed in the Hospital Wing.

"You just missed him." Oikawa said, raising an eyebrow. "Honestly, Hinata, I just wake up after a month and you come here asking for _Suga_?! You really are the worst mentee."

Hinata grinned. "I told you, you're not my mentor."

"Well, not now definitely." Oikawa sniffed.

Hinata ignored him, falling into the visitor's chair beside him. "How are you?"

"Oh, fine," Oikawa waved a hand dismissively. "Just waiting for Professor Nekomata to clear me. I'm pretty sure he's just keeping me now for my sparkling personality."

"Nah, can't be that," Hinata teased.

Oikawa aimed a kick at him. "Kids these days. You fight one basilisk and then there's no respect for your wise elders."

Hinata laughed. "I'm glad you're awake, Oikawa."

"Not as glad as you'd be if I was _Suga_ apparently," Oikawa drawled.

"I thought you'd be busy," Hinata protested, still smiling. "I was going to visit you later, promise."

"Fine, I suppose I'll believe you," Oikawa said magnanimously. "What are you looking for Suga for anyway?"

The amusement slowly fell away from Hinata's face like rain rolling down a window.

"I need to give something back to him," Hinata said quietly.

Oikawa waited, wondering if the younger was going to say any more but Hinata stayed silent, frowning down as his hands fiddled idly in his lap.

"...Hey, Oikawa," Hinata finally spoke.

"Yes?".

"Do you ever think about how the war started?" Hinata stopped, frowned. "The...the _Giant's_ war."

"I've read through the newspapers," Oikawa said, carefully. "The first spread out attacks, the Ministry notices, opinion pages, that kind of thing. It's terrifying, isn't it? How people don't notice the small things until they escalate into all out war. Is that what you mean?"

Hinata shook his head, still looking down. "Not….not really."

"What do you mean, then," Oikawa asked.

Hinata hesitated again and Oikawa forced himself to be patient.

"I just," Hinata began slowly. "I just never really thought about how much people can change, you know. And they don't even see it. No one sees it. Not until it's too late and...and you're something you don't want to be. You know?"

Oikawa didn't but before he could ask, Hinata continued.

"I guess it's just," Hinata looked up and something like electricity went down Oikawa's spine, "I think I know what you were talking about last year….with all the stupid pureblood supremacy stuff. I get why you hate them. It's because they're the kind of people...that's the kind of mindset that can hate someone so much, hate something just because it's different, that...that the person starts to believe it to." Hinata curled in on himself slightly. "Oikawa, I don't think there's anything worse than believing you should hate something you are. Or...or seeing that happen to a friend."

Oikawa watched as Hinata seemed to run out of words, looking back down and seeming so much smaller than Oikawa could ever remember him being.

Oikawa cleared his throat, trying to inject levity into his voice. "Well, you know what I always say. Don't just get mad, get even. Piss them off first."

Hinata gave a small smile. "I don't know…"

"Come on," Oikawa said, "you can't tell me all the blood supremacy stuff doesn't piss you off? You _gotta_ be angry about it. If not, it eats you alive."

"It's not that," Hinata answered "It _does_ make me angry. I am angry. But...living my life to piss off someone else doesn't sound very fun either." Hinata sighed, shaking his head. "I think, more than anything, it just makes me sad, though."

" _Sad_ , really," Oikawa asked. "For them? They don't deserve it."

Hinata shrugged. "I don't think that's really what sadness is about."

Oikawa stopped, staring at the younger boy in the chair as if he was a particularly difficult puzzle.

"I don't get you," Oikawa admitted.

Hinata looked up, opened his mouth to answer, and then there was the sound of footsteps coming closer.

Iwaizumi came around the corner, pulling the curtain a bit further back before his eyes landed on the visitor's chair.

"Hinata?" Iwaizumi looked between Oikawa's perplexed expression and Hinata still poised to respond. "Am I interrupting something?"

And then Hinata smiled-a bright smile as if the earlier contemplation was never there.

"Nah," Hinata answered, getting up off the visitor's chair and swinging his bag over his shoulder. "I was just checking on Oikawa."

Oikawa caught up not a second later, scoffing. "Don't listen to him, Iwa-chan. Apparently, I'm just playing second fiddle to Suga."

Iwaizumi gave him a deadpan expression. "I thought you knew that already."

"Mean, Iwa-chan!"

Iwaizumi ignored him, turning to look at Hinata. "You know you don't have to leave just on my account, right?"

"Yeah," Hinata said, shuffling on his feet. "But, I really do need to find Suga….plus, Kageyama's going to kill me if I don't go look after our Herbology project."

Oikawa shuddered in a way that was only partially faked. "Herbology. Go, go, save your dying plant or whatever."

Hinata laughed, heading out with one last wave over his shoulder.

After he left, Iwaizumi dropped into the visitor's chair with an amused quirk of his lip.

"Kid's more like you than I thought," Iwaizumi remarked.

And Oikawa paused, leaning back on the bed with a small smile and serious eyes.

"No," Oikawa corrected. "He's really, _really_ not."

Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow, clearly waiting for the explanation.

Oikawa just shook his head. "It's okay. I think I like him better this way."

ooooo

A/N: The story only has one more chapter left so almost done (with this year at least)! Thank you for all of your support!

The-Not-At-All-Ominously-Titled Next Chapter: The Real Enemy


	26. The Real Enemy

After the excitement and drama of the Heir's final message-not to mention, the petrification victims finally waking up-the End of the Year Feast felt almost anticlimactic. Hufflepuff was awarded the Quidditch Cup while Ravenclaw concluded a tight race by winning the House Cup.

As for the Heir and his monster, all any of the victims reported was a bright flash of yellow so the Heir's true identity was still a mystery. However, for once, it was a mystery the students seemed happy enough to abandon if it meant there were no more petrifications. Even Matsukawa and Hanamaki seemed slightly relieved to finally end their betting pool.

Talk of shutting the school down had, likewise, tapered off with every day without a petrification and every former victim that rejoined their classmates. With the mysterious and unexplained return of the Sorting Hat, Hogwarts seemed set to continue next year as planned.

All in all, it was a surprisingly normal end to what was a very abnormal year.

Hinata smiled, happily grabbing another roll from the feast.

Across from him, Kenma narrowed his eyes. "I don't want to know."

"Wha do vou wean," Hinata asked, mouth still full.

"However you were involved and whatever you did to stop the Heir," Kenma said, "I don't want to know."

Hinata swallowed. "Why do you think _I_ did anything?"

"Because I know you," Kenma answered, sighing heavily. "Plus, Kuroo came back to the dorm a few nights ago with way too many bruises for Quidditch. Just tell me: Is everyone safe?"

Hinata exchanged a look with Kageyama and Yachi.

"Yes, everyone's okay now," Yachi admitted.

Kenma nodded. "And is the Heir really gone?"

Hinata hesitated. "Um, well, I really don't think petrifications are going to be a problem anymore."

Kenma gave him an assessing look that made Hinata kind of feel like his friend could look straight into his mind.

Finally, Kenma nodded again and the intensity folded back in until only the quiet, unassuming Ravenclaw remained.

"Good," Kenma said softly.

Around them, the students laughed, gossiped, and joked and everything was once again back to normal. Or at least as normal as Hogwarts could ever be.

ooooooo

"Um, Oikawa," Bokuto said cautiously. "Isn't that your girlfriend over there making out with Takeuchi from Ravenclaw."

"Huh," Oikawa barely looked up from the parchment. "Oh, yeah, apparently he helped her through her 'bereavement' while I was petrified."

Oikawa finished the statement with a pronounced eye roll before going back to reading.

"That's terrible." Suga frowned. "Are you okay?"

Oikawa snorted. "We went on two moderately okay-ish dates. I think I'll survive without her."

"Good," Iwaizumi muttered darkly.

This time Oikawa did look up. "Oh, what's the matter, Iwa-chan? Something got you annoyed?"

Iwaizumi shrugged. "She was irritating."

"Jealous, Iwa-chan?" Oikawa smiled with a particular spark in his eyes.

Iwaizumi just looked confused. "Of what?"

"What indeed," Oikawa mumbled but let the conversation drop, turning to Suga with a bright smile. "Anyway, if we're talking about anyone's love life, I think it should be Suga's? How's things with your not-so-damsel in distress?"

Suga blushed, smiling softly. "I gave him my floo address. We're going out for ice cream at Foretescue's once break starts."

Kuroo elbowed him, waggling his eyebrows. "Look at that, defeated the monster and got the guy. Oikawa's right, you're a regular knight in shining armor, Suga."

Suga swatted his elbow away, grinning. "If anyone's the knight, it's Iwaizumi. Pick on him."

"Traitor," Iwaizumi shot back as both Kuroo and Bokuto turned to him with gleeful smirks already present.

Before they could say anything, Iwaizumi was temporarily saved by someone approaching their table.

"Hinata!" Bokuto boomed, shooting up to hug the younger boy while Oikawa gave him a nod.

"Hey," Hinata said, slightly subdued and almost nervous. "Um, can I talk to Suga for a second?"

"Me," Suga asked and then Oikawa was pushing him towards Hinata.

"Take him," Oikawa said before turning to address Suga. "He's been looking for you since yesterday."

Suga frowned, feeling more confused, but something in Hinata's shoulders at slightly relaxed at word that he was coming so Suga withheld the questions and followed Hinata out the Great Hall and down to an empty classroom.

"Could you, ah, do the whole silencing charm thing," Hinata asked. "I gotta talk to you about...um, something with your family."

Suga stopped, barely suppressing a wince, but complied with the instruction-casting one of the most powerful privacy charms he knew.

Only when he finished, did he turn back to Hinata. "My family?"

Hinata pulled out a diary. "Yeah, I-I wanted to give this back to you."

Suga took it, holding it carefully as someone else might hold a viper.

"This was my grandfather's diary," Suga told Hinata, quietly. "He gave it to me before he died."

"I know," Hinata said. "I read it."

Suga froze. "You...you what?"

"I'm sorry," Hinata said. "I didn't know it was yours. I don't know if that's like a breach of privacy or something. I know it has all those security charms on it. But Kenma said I accidentally broke through them and...and then Hisa-your grandfather mentioned he was the Heir and I thought it could help with the petrifications and so I kept reading and...and…and then I found out _everything_ and…"

Hinata broke off, wiping at his eyes. "And, Suga, it was so _sad_ and there's not even anything I can do to help it because…because everything's already happened."

Hinata was breathing quickly, tears running down his face, and Suga pushed aside his own questions, reaching out and wrapping the younger boy in a tight hug.

"I'm sorry," Suga whispered and Hinata held on tighter. "I know it had to be awful. Watching all of that."

"It was," Hinata said. "It was terrible."

Suga sighed. "My grandfather was a terrible man. That's why I choose never to read his diary."

Hinata stiffened, pulling back abruptly. "You've...you've never read it?"

Suga shook his head, smiling without humor. "Never needed to. If I want to know more about my family's atrocities, all I need to do is open a newspaper."

Hinata was shaking his head. "No, Suga, you have to read it. You _have_ to. You need to see."

"Hinata, trust me," Suga grimaced, "I know exactly what kind of man my grandfather was. I don't need to witness it firsthand to see that he was a monster."

"You do, though" Hinata insisted, tone increasingly desperate. "Suga, you don't understand."

"I do," Suga promised him. "Hinata, it's okay. I understand. When I was five years old, I thought my grandfather was the greatest wizard alive. It took me years to learn how much of a monster he truly was. It was a hard thing to realize. I can't imagine what it was like to see it through his own memories. It had to be terrible"

"Suga, no," Hinata said, wiping away the last tears. "I'm not upset because your grandfather was a monster. I'm upset because he didn't have to be. Because he wasn't always one."

Suga stopped, hands still reaching out to comfort Hinata while his next words died on his tongue.

Hinata stared back at him. "But he became a monster anyway. And that's _sad._ That's terrible. Because he thought...they both thought they were making the world better and all they did is make it so, so much worse."

Hinata shook his head. "Suga, you really need to read the diary."

"Hinata," Suga tried again.

"Please," Hinata pleaded. "Please, promise me you will."

The diary clenched in his hands while Suga regarded Hinata, face still tear stained but eyes stubborn. Hinata didn't look like he was giving up anytime soon.

Finally, Suga broke the stare, pulling his bag up and making a show of putting the diary safely within it. Hinata's shoulders dropped, his entire frame relaxing as he gave Suga a small smile.

"Thanks, Suga."

Suga nodded. "Are you alright, Hinata?"

Hinata tilted his head, almost confused. "Hmm, oh yeah, I'm fine." The look turned rueful. "Or I guess, I _will_ be fine, you know? Don't worry about me, the diary just….made me realize a few things."

"I can imagine," Suga said neutrally.

"Yeah…" Hinata's eyes slowly grew warm. "I'm just really, really grateful for my friends."

And that at least Suga understood.

He reached out, ruffling Hinata's hair. "So am I."

Hinata smiled, a pure kind of brightness that caught somewhere in Suga's chest.

"Yachi wanted us to pack tonight so we won't be late for the train," Hinata said, casting a glance back at the clock. "I should probably go."

With a flick of his wand, Suga cancelled the privacy charms and watched as Hinata threw a final wave before heading down the hall.

Suga watched him go. As he disappeared from view, Suga took out the diary again.

Frowning, he turned it in his hands and muttered a quick spell detection charm, his frown only deepening when the diary turned a bright, bright blue. The protection charms were still in place. Judging by the color, they were even in full force.

The Noroi family had always been paranoid about privacy. From all of Suga's experience, their protection charms didn't have holes in them. If someone outside of the family wished to view the diary, the innate amount of magic it would take to get passed the barriers should be borderline impossible.

Suga ran a finger down the diary. _Exactly how powerful is Hinata?_

"Well, that's a serious expression."

Suga turned and smiled.

"And that's a significantly less serious one," Daichi said, smiling back. "Everything okay?"

"Just talking to Hinata," Suga said, moving closer until he could feel the warmth from Daichi's body and his shoulders finally started to relax.

The change in posture didn't escape Daichi's notice. "Everything okay with Hinata?"

Suga paused. "I think he was just worried."

"Should he be," Daichi asked, simple curiosity and concern without the slightest hint of accusation.

Suga looked down at the diary, considering, and Daichi followed his gaze in confusion. And under Daichi's stare, the diary seemed to weigh heavier in Suga's hands. Another remainder of what Suga wanted to put behind him.

Daichi was opening his mouth to ask and Suga spoke before he could.

"No," Suga said, quickly shoving the diary down in his bag. "Hinata was upset over something old that's impossible to change. He'll be fine soon."

Hinata wasn't the type to let things hold him down for long, even whatever he'd learned in the diary. That at least Suga was certain about.

"So," Suga said, adopting a lighter tone and reaching out to Daichi with his now free hands, "what brings you out to these neck of the halls."

Daichi laughed, reaching back to hold Suga's hands. "The ones right by the Great Hall, you mean?"

"Exactly."

"I _was_ heading down to meet the others," Daichi told him, "but I don't think they'll mind waiting a bit."

Suga bumped into him. "Not too long. They'll worry."

"They have the map." Daichi paused before shrugging. "Knowing them, Noya's still trying to get them to come up with a name."

"A name?"

"Apparently, Noya thinks we need something better to call ourselves than 'six Gryffindors and a Slytherin.'"

"It is a bit long." Suga admitted.

"But accurate," Daichi protested playfully. "Friend groups don't need names."

Suga hummed, not commenting.

"Right, Suga?"

Suga motioned zipping his lips.

Daichi narrowed his eyes. "You don't?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You guys-Oikawa, Iwaizumi, Kuroo, Bokuto, and you-you can't tell me you actually have a name?"

Suga grinned.

"You do," Daichi accused. "Come on, what is it?"

Suga laughed. "If we did happen to have one, I'm not sure I could tell someone who doesn't believe in them. _If_ we did and all that."

"Now, you've gotta tell me."

Suga leaned against him. "Maybe if you got one of your own."

Daichi rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine. I know when I've lost. What kind of name, then? I'd call them 'Troublemakers' if it wouldn't just give them _ideas_."

Suga laughed again. "True."

"What do you think," Daichi bumped his shoulder into Suga.

Suga tilted his head in consideration before smiling.

"You've got something," Daichi asked.

Suga nodded. "How about…"

ooooooo

The train whistle broke through the early morning air, startling Kageyama into a yawn. Yachi looked at him in commiseration as he leaned heavily against the train window.

Meanwhile, Hinata, as the only true morning person in the compartment, grinned brightly.

"I can't believe this is the last time we'll see Hogwarts for an entire _summer_."

"And all the teachers left us to remember it with is the boring summer assignments," Lev groaned, poking at the parchments in the bag as if they were a particularly hideous bug.

Kenma raised an eyebrow. "You're going to do them last minute again, aren't you?"

"Why ruin tradition," Lev asked, blinking innocently.

Yachi shook her head. "Yaku's really is going to kill you one day." .

"Yeah, probably," Lev agreed, entirely too fond.

"So," Hinata said, turning away from the window, "who do you thinks going to teach Defense next year?"

"Poor Mananda" Yachi sighed. "I heard he resigned almost immediately after he woke up."

"Good," Kageyama muttered, half-asleep.

Lev nodded in agreement only to get elbowed by Kenma. "Hey, he said it first!"

"Professor Nekomata mentioned they're already looking at someone," Kenma said, utterly ignoring Lev.

Yachi hummed. "Apparently they started looking right after Mananda got petrified."

"Oh, right," Lev said. "I heard from some of the older years, the guy's like a top curse breaker or something."

Hinata's eyes went wide. "That's so cool!"

"Can't be any worse," was Kageyama's less than enthusiastic response.

That set Yachi was off, discussing possibilities and the hypothetical professor's probable expertise with Lev shouting whenever she hit a particularly exciting one and Kenma offering his own softer contributions. Next to Hinata, Kageyama had already fallen back into a light doze by the window.

Hinata leaned back, for once, just quietly observing his friends while feeling utterly and completely warm.

This was exactly where he belonged.

ooooooo

"Really," Tsukishima asked flatly. "An entire year and _still_ no one bothered to learn an expansion charm."

Sitting in Asahi's lap with his legs casually thrown over Tanaka, Noya shrugged. "There was a lot going on this year. Priorities."

"You know you could always learn them yourself," Ennoshita pointed out.

Tsukishima muttered darkly to himself.

"Charms aren't really Tsuki's thing," Yamaguchi translated, only to receive a half-hearted glare from the person he was basically sitting on. "Not that there's anything wrong with that."

"Ya know," Tanaka said, making an aborted movement to stretch his arms out before accidentally hitting Ennoshita, "even without the expansion charm, I'd say this has been a pretty successful year. We finished the map, fought a basilisk, and Daichi got a date. I'm gonna call this one a win."

Narrowly missing Asahi's nose, Noya's head twisted over to Daichi. "Oh! Hey, did you give Suga my owl address, yet? I've got like _a ton_ of questions and since he's basically our step-parent now, I feel like he's socially obligated to answer."

Daichi sighed, looking mildly pained. "I did but if try to refrain from calling him any kind of 'parent' at least until we have our first date."

"Daichi," Tanaka said, "come on, he's gotta start getting used to us somehow. This is baby steps."

And that...that was far too reasonable and accurate of a statement for Daichi to truly want to comprehend right now so he unwittingly went with the tried and true method of parents everywhere: blatant distraction.

"By the way, I might have made progress on the name front," Daichi said. "Well, more like Suga did."

Daichi would forever deny if his smile went slightly dopey at the later name.

Tsukishima groaned. "No, Daichi, I thought you were one of the sane ones."

"Not with that smile," Asahi muttered only to be faced with one of Daichi's patented glares.

"I think a name sounds fun," Yamaguchi admitted, smiling in the face of Tsukishima's betrayed look.

"What is it? What is it?" Noya asked.

"The crows," Daichi said, shrugging. "Suga said it fit us for some reason."

"Crows," Noya sounded out the word. "I like it. Black wings, awesome. Flying, super awesome. And they got like that cool air of mystery or something."

Ennoshita smiled. "Noya, there is literally nothing mysterious about you in the slightest bit."

"You never know," Noya answered. "Anyway, I like it. I approve. One vote for crows."

"Two votes," Tanaka said, high-fiving Noya.

Asahi quietly and with a small blush, held up three fingers for his vote.

"Crows does sound cool," Yamaguchi said, turning to Tsukishima.

Tsukishima sighed. "As far as names go-which for the record are still utterly unnecessary-I suppose it will do." A slow smirk spread over Tsukishima's face. "Actually, I think it's fitting."

Ennoshita, narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Why?"

"What do you call a gathering of crows," Tsukishima asked.

Ennoshita's eyes widened before he snorted in amusement. "A Murder"

Tsuki smirk widened. "Exactly what I want whenever I meet up with you all."

"You love us," Noya said, unbothered. "So, we're agreed! Long live the crows!"

Almost as one, the compartment turned to Daichi for the final say.

Daichi smiled. "Yeah, long live the crows."

ooooooo

"And there it goes," Bokuto said, leaning around Oikawa to glance out the window as the train started departing.

Oikawa sighed, leaning his head against the window and looking out as the castle spires were cast in a pale dawn glow. "You know, petrifications and all, I'm really going to miss this place."

"We'll be back in a few months," Suga pointed out.

"Plus," Iwaizumi said, "at least _you_ get to practice magic over the summer."

Oikawa brightened. "That's true! Of course, like the Ministry notice said, I'll need it to make up all those missed assignments."

Kuroo rolled his eyes. "The ones you did months ago."

"The very same," Oikawa agreed happily. "And yes, I might not use the newfound freedom _entirely_ for school work. But, if you think about it, it's really just compensation for being discluded from class ranks."

Kuroo looked at Iwaizumi. "You'll at least try not make sure the idiot doesn't blow himself up experimenting, right?"

"Probably." Iwaizumi shrugged.

"Least we can really ask for," Suga deadpanned.

Oikawa stuck out his tongue. "And, just for that, any cool, exciting, or possibly _ground breaking_ things I find over the summer, I am only telling to Bokuto."

"Awesome!" Bokuto grinned.

"Can you believe we actually missed him," Kuroo asked, shaking his head.

"Aww, you missed me," Oikawa teased.

"Maybe a bit," Kuroo said. "A really, really small bit. Minuscule, actually."

"Cute," Oikawa said.

"Oh, I'm adorable," Kuroo agreed.

"Well, just wait," Oikawa declared dramatically. "Yes, this year might have had its unique difficulties."

Iwaizumi snorted. "Just a bit."

"But," Oikawa continued, "next year's going to be great. I can feel it." He paused to exchange a fist bump with Bokuto. "And just to double check, no one else is hiding any big secret snake related family legacies, right?"

"None here, just Hufflepuff," Bokuto answered.

Suga laughed. "I believe there was just that one."

"Good," Oikawa said, bumping into Suga. "Remember, friends don't let friends deal with their ancestor's mind controlling snakes alone. It's a common saying, Suga. Look it up!"

"I'll do that," Suga said. "Anyway, I think I've had enough of keeping secrets to last a lifetime."

For just a brief second, Suga thought inexplicably of the diary hidden in the bottom of his trunk. He pushed the thought away to focus on the moment in front of him, on what was important.

"Besides," Suga smiled, "you're more than friends, you're family."

Oikawa smiled back, the sun shining down on his face.

"Then that sounds like a bright future"

ooooooo

A man walked calmly down the halls of Azkaban's high security wing.

The darkness of the night cloaked the cells, clinging thickly in the curious absence of the prison's infamous guards.

The man walked, undisturbed. Past the cell of a mass poisoner, now twitching restlessly even in sleep. Past the rare shared cell of a husband and wife, the fallen lord and lady of what used be a old and noble pureblood family. Past the newest addition, the disgraced magiarcheologist glaring mutely at the walls of the cell.

At the end of the hall, he stopped.

He tapped his wand on the last cell's lock and watched as the metal dissolved into black sand.

The door of the cell swung open and its inhabitant looked up with large owlish eyes, blinking in the sudden light.

The man stepped forward, kneeling by the prisoner's cot before slowly removing his hood.

There was a sudden intake of breath and then a frail hand reached out to hesitantly run a finger down the man's cheek.

"Master?" Tears ran down the prisoner's cheeks. "Is that really you? I thought-I thought you were dead."

The man smiled, bringing up his own hand to catch the prisoner's and hold it against his cheek, letting his warmth run through the other.

"Sorry, it took me so long," the man said and the prisoner let out a choked sob. "Care to get out of here?"

The prisoner let out a wild laugh and the man took that as their answer, pulling them to their feet while quickly casting the charms needed to make his visit undetectable.

Finally, he pulled them out of the cell and cast one final spell to fix the lock. The prisoner spun down the hall, laughing still and thin spindly legs practically dancing in the light of the moon and the first taste of freedom.

The man walked sedately behind them.

A hand shot out from another cell, feebly grasping at the man's cloak and he looked down to see the wife of the shared cell, looking out at him with pleading, hopeful eyes.

"Master," she croaked out. "Help?"

The man regarded her, letting a cross between pity and sympathy show on his face.

"Soon," he promised her. "Wait just a little bit longer. Then all of you will be free."

The woman's hand dropped away from his cloak, going back and being held to her chest as a wide crooked grin broke across her face and her eyes lit with a fire much too dark to be quite sane.

"Soon...soon," she whispered, repeating the word over and over as she slowly sunk back to the darkness of the cell.

The man continued walking, joining the newly freed prisoner outside on the creaking rusted metal overhang from back during a time Azkaban used more traditional guards.

With the cold wind blowing at their face, the laughter was slowly dying from the prisoner's eyes replaced with something almost like clarity.

"Master…" the prisoner rasped softly, voice strained from disuse.

The man inclined his head to show he was listening..

"I read about Noroi's death," the prisoner said. "I'm sorry, Ichiro. He will be missed."

The man's hands tightened painfully on the bar, hit with a grief so strong it was near overwhelming.

 _I'm sorry, Ichiro. He will be missed._

The man let out a ragged gasp.

 _Focus,_ he reminded himself sternly.

 _I'm sorry, Ichiro._

Ichiro. Ichiro used to be the name of a someone too smart for his own good, driven by his desire for acceptance, and fiercely protective of those he loved.

Everyone the man had ever loved was dead.

And Ichiro-the young man, almost a boy, who wanted to rebuild the world as a better place-was gone.

All that was left was a man who wanted to watch the world burn.

All that was left was…

"Master? Ichiro?"

The man clenched his jaw, shaking his head. "The Giant."

ooooooo

A/N: First off, thank you everyone for holding on with this story throughout. I really don't think I would still be posting without the amazing support I've received for the story so thank you to everyone. Next, HAIKYUU! SEASON FOUR! I'm so, so excited I'm taking a bit of a break to get some stuff done and fully write out a chapter plan for the third story. I should begin posting the third story in late January or early February. Next story: "Yu Nishinoya and the Shrieking Shack" In addition to Oikawa and Hinata, it will mainly focus on Noya, Kuroo, and Yachi. The first line is "Yachi awoke to the sound of Aurors banging on the door" I'll post the plot summary on my author page soon. Happy Holidays, everyone!


	27. Next Story Has Posted

The next story, "Yu Nishinoya and the Shrieking Shack", has been posted and you can find it by clicking on my profile page.

Thank you everyone for the support you've given me throughout writing this!


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